


Happy Belated Betrothal

by SHOOT050313



Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: BAMF Pepper Potts, Cute, Deadpool gets injured and he heals in like 2 minutes, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Flashbacks, Fuck Canon, How Do I Tag, I don't know what this is anymore but here, I don't like Steve, Identity Reveal, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mild Blood, Misunderstandings, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Precious Peter Parker, Wedding, author plays with cannon, in the past, not graphic, pre-relationship WinterFalcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22841752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SHOOT050313/pseuds/SHOOT050313
Summary: Clint and Laura are finally having a wedding! Everyone returns their RSVPs in record time- that may be because only close family was invited, or maybe because this was a long time coming. Unfortunately for one genius and his prodigy, misunderstanding who got an invitation requires quick thinking on their part when they're asked for a date's name.** I bring this up in the fic, but Civil War happened on a much smaller scale, Steve, Wanda, Pietro, and Clint are the only  people who didn't sign the accords at the end of the day, but there was no huge fight- just disagreements. Bucky was sent to Wakanda and Shuri and Tony helped him with his arm and brain. Once he returned Sam was assigned to help him with recovery.  (Also, Coulson and Pietro are alive and unofficially part of the Barton family because I said so) **
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Michelle Jones/Shuri, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Peter Parker/Wade Wilson, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 8
Kudos: 99





	1. RSVP ( 1 Month until Wedding )

“Hey Pepper, you’re free to go to Clint’s wedding, right?” Tony stepped into her office without knocking, “I mean, I already RSVP’d but if not I’m sure I can ask Rhod-”

“Yeah, of course I’m free. I told Laura I’m coming- she’s very excited to have me as a Bridesmaid,” Pepper’s smile faltered as she looked up from her stack of paperwork and took in Tony’s face. His usually expressive face froze for a moment before he sat down across from her and reassembled his mask. “Tony, what’s going on?”

“No. Nothing, I just wasn’t aware you got your own invitation. I was gonna ask you to come with me, but you did so everything’s good. Everything’s fine.”

“I mean, yeah what did you expect- Happy got one and not me? I’ve known Laura for years.”

Tony’s eyes almost seemed to bulge as he took in her words, almost whispering to himself as he processed, “Happy got his own invitation? So I’m sure Rhodey got his own as well... I know Peter did, May must have as well. Did Strange?” Tony was ready to continue listing people when Pepper gently placed her hand on his shoulder. 

They made eye contact as Pepper crouched down in front of him, her eyes expressing concern and a bit of amusement, changing into pure mirth as she seemed to comprehend his dilemma. “I think you need to find a date.”

Tony just threw his head back and groaned, she knows me so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unsure of an update schedule, probably/hopefully once a week(minus the fact that I posted two chapters today). The other chapters are almost all longer so I felt like I'd be setting this story up a bit better with 2.


	2. Tony Needs a Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets a text asking for his date's name. He responds, but he actually still needs to confirm his date.

**Arrowman:** Hey Tony. What’s your date’s name? Laura’s been bugging me about the fact that you guys didn’t feel like sharing. 

_Dang it!_ Tony thought, _Who am I bringing? Who didn’t Clint invite… Did Stephen get an invite? He better not have- Clint doesn’t even know him, right?_

 **TinCan:** Stephen.

 **Arrowman:** Okay… Stephen what?  
**TinCan:** Strange  
**Arrowman:** listen man, Laura’s gonna kill me if I don’t get his last name.  
**TinCan:** No. it’s Strange, his last name is Strange  
**Arrowman:** Dude, I don’t care if it’s strange, just tell me what it is so I don’t have to lie to Laura about it

 _Is he seriously this dumb?_ Tony took a deep breath before typing out a response. 

**TinCan:** Clint. His name is Stephen Strange…  
**Arrowman:** Oh  
**TinCan:** Yeah  
**Arrowman:** Well, thanks dude  
**TinCan:** Yep. I’ll see you 

_That was too annoying. I guess I gotta take Stephen now._

So now he had to ensure the magician was free and willing. 

**TinyProfessor:** Hey Steph!  
**MagicMike:** No.  
**TinyProfessor:** You don’t even know what I’m gonna ask!?  
**TinyProfessor:** How are you gonna deny me right off the bat!  
**MagicMike:** Because I know you and I know you only call me Steph when you want something.  
**TinyProfessor:** Okay. Just hear me out.  
**TinyProfessor:** So there’s a wedding I’m going to in a month.  
**MagicMike:** Okay… Congratulations?  
**TinyProfessor:** yeah yeah… I need a date.  
**MagicMike:** So what? You want me to conjure up a date for you or something?  
**MagicMike:** That’s not really something I’m capable of.  
**TinyProfessor:** NO!

Tony could imagine the wizard's face... smirking the smirk only Stephen Strange could. He let out a slight giggle at the thought.

 **MagicMike:** Umm.. okay? So what do you want?  
**TinyProfessor:** So, I kinda told Clint that I had a date for his wedding and he texted me about an hour ago asking for my date’s name and I kinda, sorta maybe told him yours.  
**MagicMike:** So you need me to be your date?  
**TinyProfessor:** Yeah…  
**MagicMike:** Okay  
**TinyProfessor:** Really?  
**MagicMike:** Yeah.

Tony let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as he realized that everything was actually going to be okay. Stephen was gonna be his date for the wedding. 

**MagicMike:** Just make sure you get me a suit that matches yours. 

_Oh Fuck. Stephen Strange is his date to the wedding._

Tony almost responded with, “Weren’t you a surgeon? Get your own damn suit.” Before realizing the power Stephen had just handed him.

 **TinyProfessor:** How do you feel about red?


	3. Tony Needs Friends ( 3 weeks to wedding)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony needs his friends' help, right?

“Pep, Pepperoni, Strawberry of my life?” Tony, Pepper, and Rhodes were strewn around the living room. Tony had spent the past hour quietly and patiently watching his best friends work. Quietly by Tony standards anyway. “Rhodey Bear? Light of my life?” He was met with comfortable silence which he endured as his best friends finished up the last of their work. 

During the past 3 hours, Tony hadn’t uttered a word, but he also hadn’t been able to sit still for more than a moment. Pepper and James made eye contact several times- this was more than the regular Tony Stark hyperactivity. He walked full laps around the room, played several symphonies on the coffee table, sketched blueprints of all sorts all over the walls. But now he was breaking that silence, signaling that he was ready to share the thoughts in his mind. 

They looked up in harmony, making sure Tony met their eyes before glancing at each other. He took a very slow, grounding breath before spitting out the words almost as quickly as his brain processed them out. “You guys know Stephen Strange. Tall doctor turned magician. Grey stripe right over both temples. Haughty... annoying attitude. Master of the frickin mystics arts or whatever. Shaky hands to mask the overconfidence he wears on his face with that fucking smirk… Yeah, you know him?" He waited for both of them to nod before continuing. “ Well, I need you guys to back me up for this wedding thing. I kinda sorta messed up a bit and Pepper kinda knows this one so I’m sure that she told you and maybe even Happy but I really need you guys to back me up on this one and just support me if anyone asks any questions. I cannot be called a liar ”

Rhodey stood up and walked over to the coffee table Tony was currently seated on and planted himself down next to Pepper on the couch. “ Tones, what’s up? Why did you bring up Stephen?”

Pepper’s eyes betrayed her once again superior knowledge as she took Tony’s hands in hers. She squeezed them as she asked, “He’s your date, right?”

He nodded as he hung his head. After several moments of silence, he felt Pepper remove her hands from his. He heard movements around his head and after what seemed like half an hour he looked up to see his two best friends signing to each other. He caught the end of Pepper’s phrase before they swiftly dropped their hands. “What is this about obliviousness? I’m just asking you guys to back me up when I say that we’ve been dating for a while and that you guys have known about it.”

“Yeah, Tones no worries- but could we at least meet the guy before the wedding- it’ll be hard to talk to and about him if all we know about him is the little information you’ve given us over the last few months.” Rhodey waited for his best friend to nod at him before resting back on the couch. "Bring him to brunch." 

As Tony got up and went down to the lab, Rhodey gave Pepper a look that did not need to be translated, _THAT'S what got him all riled up?_ Pepper just scoffed and rolled her eyes, she knew this would happen from the moment Tony needed a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey and Pepper's conversation.  
> Rhodey: So let me get this straight, they're dating and this is him telling us? Because I'm confused.  
> Pep: They're not together. Apparently they're just friends but don't let the word fool you.  
> R: So they are together, but not saying anything because...?  
> P: They haven't realized that's where their relationship is. it would be cute if it wasn't so annoying.  
> R: Why haven't I heard a lot about him? And why are they not official yet if they clearly feel the way you're implying?  
> P: I guess I've just been lucky, but for the boys, I think it's just obliviousness-


	4. Peter Needs a Date ( 10 days to Wedding)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter of set-up...  
> Peter Parker needs a date. He just so happens to be on a roof with someone who has no plans and no invitation.

**Arrowman:** Do you know Parker’s dates name by any chance?

**TinCan:** Why are you asking me?

**Arrowman:** I forgot to ask you about it when I texted you before, and I don’t have the kids number.

**TinCan:** It might just be Ned, but lemme check.

**Arrowman:** Not Ned- unless he has two friends with that name. May said she would bring him for Peter.

**TinCan:** Okay, I’m asking the kid now.

Oh that boy is so dead if I find out he’s actually bringing a date, Tony immediately contacted his prodigy to figure out why and how he didn’t know any information about who he’s bringing to this wedding. .

**STARk:** Hey Kid! Clint’s asking me what your date’s name is for the wedding. 

**Spiderboy:** Hey Mr.Stark, I’m on patrol right now, I was just planning to go with my aunt for that. 

**STARk:** I got that. Clint’s asking about your date- you told him you were bringing one, I’m sure he assumed you’d accompany May as well, she’s already provided her RSVP. 

“Karen, who do I know who didn’t get an invite for this wedding.”

“Your acquaintances MJ and Ned didn’t get an invitation-”

“Perfect!”

“-but they are both accompanying others who have been invited.”

“Wait… but- who?” Peter was truly confused as to why his friends didn’t tell him they were attending the wedding. 

“MJ is attending alongside Ms.Shuri and Ned is accompanying your Aunt May.” 

He should have known, May would assume Peter would forget to ask anyone in his excitement- she was trying to be thoughtful- who would have guessed it would leave him almost friendless?

So there was really only one person left who he could even consider bringing with him to this wedding- unless he wanted to admit he made a mistake. He glanced up at the man in front of him on the roof.

“Hey! Are you by any chance free next weekend?”

“Yeah, why? What’s up Baby Boy”

“We’re going to a wedding.”

**STARk:** Kid. I just need a name. First is good enough.

 **Spiderboy:** Wade

 **STARk:** Can’t wait to meet him Parker.

“We’re doing what!?”

Peter was not ready to have Wade meet the current and old avengers, but he had a week to get him to promise to behave. Maybe he'd actually do it if he asked nicely enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of these chapters will be significantly longer, I just didn't want to condense all of these into 1 or 2 chapters.


	5. MJ needs Brunch ( the weekend before the wedding)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter wants all his friends to be acquainted before the wedding. Ned and MJ have opinions. Wade is confused.
> 
> Brunch is demanded and delivered on.

**Spiderboi:** Guys. I need your support. 

**Mjk:** What?

 **Guy in the Chair:** What do you need?

 **Spiderboi:** So for Clint’s wedding I need you guys to pretend to know someone for me. 

**Mjk:** … Okay. What are you playing at?

 **Guy in the Chair:** You got it man, who are we talking about?

 **Mjk:** Wait.. Ned? You’re going to the wedding too?

 **Spiderboi:** Yes we’re all going with a date and yet neither of you decided to tell me.

 **Guy in the Chair:** Sorry dude, it slipped my mind, plus I thought May had already talked to you about it.

 **Mjk:** Wait… wdym we’re all going with a date?

 **Guy in the Chair:** I mean… I’m going with May, so technically I guess I’m her date. 

**Mjk:** I got that… But Peter who are you going with?

 **Guy in the Chair:** Wait, MJ who are you going with?

 **Spiderboi:** Wade

 **Mjk:** Shuri

 **Guy in the Chair:** Shuri? As in the princess of Wakanda Shuri?

 **Mjk:** As in vigilante that you won’t let us meet Wade?

 **Guy in the Chair:** Congratulations man. I didn’t know you guys were together. 

**Spiderboi:** Oh. We’re not, but I just want you guys to pretend you both know him. 

**Mjk:** Yeah, we got together a bit after she visited Peter during the Accords signing. 

**Guy in the Chair:** Oh cool Pete, I was talking to MJ. Why do we have to pretend?

 **Spiderboi:** I umm.. may have told Clint that I had a date for this thing and I just kinda told Tony that I was bringing Wade so that’s what it is.

 **Guy in the Chair:** Okay, so we’re just supposed to pretend like we knew about you guys already?

 **Mjk:** I need to meet this guy first. Bring him to the coffee shop for brunch on Sunday.

 **Spiderboi:** sounds like a plan. ttyl

#### ________ (2 days later | 1 week before wedding) ___________

MJ and Ned arrived early to plan out their attack on Peter when he and Wade showed their faces. The coffee shop was an older one- meaning that although they had wifi, there were bookshelves and large desks everywhere. The green, but almost blue carpet with coffee spills older than the store, the permanent indents in said carpeting in even rows throughout, the abrupt change into tile at the counter, the spaciousness of the windows, but they were all above the seats; the second you enter you could tell there used to be a library there. 

"I still can't believe we've never met this guy. They've known each other for almost as long as we've known he was spiderman." MJ's eyes sparkled as their drinks came over- they ordered smalls so that they could finish them in the maybe 20 minutes they had before the others arrived. Peter was buying them other drinks later.

"Peter probably just wanted to be sure before he introduced us." Ned's face lit up as he spoke as if these hopeful ideas were just coming to him as he spoke. 

"Sure of what? Peter is never sure of anything ever." She scoffed, "I'm like 85% sure he still believes Tony secretly hates him."

"Sure that they're gonna last. I mean he's introducing us because he's bringing the guy to a wedding- like you can't get more romantic than that." 

"Oh, see that’s adorable, but that makes that an irrelevant comment." MJ finished her drink and got up to return her cup before returning to a confused Ned. She stared him down before she realized he would require an explanation "They're not together dickhead. The idiot just hasn't introduced us yet because he's terrible and doesn't want us to embarrass him. As Peter said, it's not a date just bringing him for the Wedding."

"No. There's no way they're not together, have you seen the way Peter talks about him- they've been together since just after you found out he was spiderman. Which was a few months after I found out by the way."

"Okay. I mean, I knew before you did, but he only confirmed after I confronted him after you found out. ." She swiped Ned's drink and quickly finished it before placing the empty cup on the table behind them. "And by that I mean I told him I knew and he had no choice but to confirm."

"Why'd you do that? I paid-" Ned cut himself off as he followed her line of sight to Peter and a taller guy entered the coffee shop. MJ checked her watch and confirmed that somehow Peter arrived 10 minutes early- instead of his consistent at least 5 minutes late. They seemed to scan the store until the taller guy spotted Ned staring. He nudged Peter who looked over before breaking out into a smile. 

"Hey, guys! This is Wade." Peter walked over to his friends while Wade stayed stuck a few steps behind. Glancing behind himself Peter grabbed Wade's arm and pulled him over. " Wade, this is Ned and MJ." 

Wade took in the two teens sitting at the table. Whatever they had been discussing before they walked up it was obvious that they hadn't reached a consensus especially with the way the brunette had quieted the boy when Wade and Peter had entered the cafe. The boy now sitting next to Pete was wearing light tan cargo shorts, a blue and yellow Hawaiian shirt, and spiderman limited edition vans. He was probably one of only a few people who actually wore them rather than saving them to sell later. Wade respected him almost instantly and responded to his smile with one of his own, but glancing over at MJ made his smile falter. MJ had a calculating stare that made Wade feel like she was evaluating his soul. Her hair was up in a messy high ponytail, which fit perfectly with her black jeans, white Metallica crop top, red combat boots, and burgundy aviator jacket. She signaled for Wade to sit in the chair next to her and he quickly complied. 

"So, how are you guys doing?" Peter raised an eyebrow at Wade's jerky movements getting into the seat across from him.

"We're fine. How are you guys? I need a full introduction of your friend." MJ tilted her head(which was resting on her fist) over towards the older boy as she spoke. 

"Oh.. well, I'm 20- doing freelance work for now. Lived in Queens for the last few years, before that I traveled the country, meeting hundreds of interesting people..." Wade spoke confidently, but the table stayed silent for a few moments after he concluded his statement, his mouth flopped slightly as he cut himself off. Ned and Peter nodded along, while MJ shifted as she tried to fill in the blanks of his statement. 

"Freelance? In what?" Peter sucked in a sharp breath at her question, drawing their eyes to him as Wade collected his thoughts.

"Well, after the incident I wanted to go against the people that did this to me, but first I had to investigate their partners. Turns out I was good at it. I'm essentially a PI." Peter made reassuring eye contact that Wade responded to with a steadying breath and slight nod.

"Why are you so nervous?" MJ stared the older man down, making him lean back as she smirked at his obvious discomfort. "that's so cool. What kind of investigations do you do? Corporate espionage? Divorcees? Have you ever investigated a murder?"

"Umm.. well, I guess I waver between corporate and murder." Wade glanced between MJ and Ned as he responded, unsure of how they were perceiving him. 

"Okay, but anyway we're here on a mission. Text me your orders and I'll be right back. While I'm gone please give Wade a little background on you guys so he knows more than your names and how scary MJ is." Peter slowly pushed his chair out from the table and waited for his friends to text their orders before he made for the counter across the store. 

"Do you not want a drink? I can add yours to mine if you don't have a phone." MJ asked, noting that Wade hadn't moved. 

"No need, Petey should know my order- it doesn't change." Wade leaned back in his chair, seemingly pleased with how that statement put the inquisitive girl off balance. 

"Okay, well now that all that's out of the way, I'm Ned. I love legos, I'm currently competing with MJ for salutatorian for our junior year at the moment. Umm... I love science and computer programming. Classic nerd, I guess you could say." Ned ended his statement with a chuckle Wade could tell was a signature for him.

"Yep, Ned's the nerd, Peter's the geek, and I'm the loner. That means if you even think about hurting our boy you'll have to answer to me first, then whichever of the boys happens to find you next. Trust me- you don't want to answer me." MJ stared him down, but Wade didn't break eye contact for even a second. It was silent for a few moments as Ned looked around the store until MJ's phone vibrated against the table. Both boys glanced at the phone, but MJ wasn't shifting her gaze. 

When his eyes met MJ's again, Wade verbalized his response, "If I ever hurt that boy you have my request to deal with me as you see fit." Wade's eye hardened slightly, causing MJ to startle- leaning away from the boy almost imperceptibly. The whole table was frozen for almost a minute until Wade saw Peter making his way 

"MJ they're making yours with almond milk- they're out of coconut and you didn't respond to my text. " 

MJ glanced at her phone and pushed it to the side before turning her body back to face the table. "Sorry, I was just explaining to Wade that my name is Michelle Jones but no one is allowed to call me that- it's just in case anyone questions how well you know me." She winked at Wade as she spoke. 

Ned jumped as MJ kicked him under that table. She jutted her chin toward the man, "... And I was just telling Wade that the three of us are competing for valedictorian and salutatorian for our Junior class."

Peter's eyes widened slightly as Wade turned to him. "Junior... interesting." There was a pause as Peter froze halfway back into his chair. The two teens looked at Peter, making eye contact but the boy in question refused to hold onto it. 

"Why is that interesting?" Ned spoke up after too much time, breaking the silence that had descended on the table.

"Because Peter told me he's 18, and I just can’t believe this guy could have gotten held back if he tried." Wade's smile turned from cheesy and joking into a mix of slightly predatory and amused. 

There was another moment of pure silence as Peter held his hands over his face and Ned looked frozen in a state of shock. MJ took precisely 2 seconds to process the implications of such a statement before bursting out laughing. " I can't believe you would do that- actually I can. OMG, I need to tell Shuri!"

"Wait why did you tell him you were 18- what were you doing that required- PARKER!" Ned yelled at his friend causing the entire shop to glance their way... Peter peered through his fingers and looked ready to swing away from the situation. Before he could their drinks arrived and everything settled down into easy conversation, seemingly forgetting that statement for the moment. They discussed the Patrols of the two mutants, A bare-bones story of Wade's brush with cancer and a horrible doctor's experience/ mutant factory at the age of 16. They still didn't know what Wade's secret identity was, but the way Peter tensed anytime they broached the subject was enough to keep them off it for the day.

Right before they parted, MJ demanded she borrow Peter for a minute. She took him behind the few remaining shelves of books and sat him down. "MJ it wasn't what you were thinking. I promi-"

"You don't even want to know what I'm thinking right now Parker. I am telling Shuri about him by the way. Consider it my compensation for this."

"Okay, she's onboard right?" Peter looked almost scared to hear MJ's response.

"Onboard with what Parker? I honestly don't know what you're playing at right now."

"I just wan-"

"Do you want us to act like we've known Wade for a while? Because that's what Ned thought we were doing. But that's also because he believed you guys were dating- which I didn't get, but after thinking over your texts and seeing the way he talks about you.... why wouldn't you tell us sooner." MJ finished her statement with a true punch to his arm. 

He humored her with a grunt of pain, causing her to smirk before he responded, "Umm.. what about my texts gave you that impression? I just wanted to be his friend because he's a really cool guy and I've been able to help him, but he literally just found out I've been lying to him for months- almost a year- there's no way he'll trust me again."

MJ knocked a book off the shelf. The hardcover hit the floor with a louder thud than should have been possible. At the table, Ned and Wade glanced at the shelves before turning to each other. After a beat, Ned broke the silence, "Uhm... I just wanted to tell you I'm glad you're coming to the wedding with us."

"Yeah, I'd do anything for him- plus he was kinda freaking out when he asked me- it was adorable. But I do have to ask, who are you and MJ going with?- don't want to assume anything, but I don’t think that Clint knows you guys and Peter isn't bringing either of you, obviously.” he gestured to himself during his last words. 

"MJ is going with her girlfriend, Shuri- she's the princess of Wakanda- and I'm going with Peter's aunt. She told me that Peter most definitely forgot about me so she wanted to make sure I was able to go. I thought she just assumed he forgot about me when responding, but now I know about you so it all clicks now."

"Oh. Got it. Thanks for the background." But Wade's face said almost anything else. 

Before Ned could question it, Peter and MJ returned to the table. Although Peter sat down Mj remained standing and shook Wade’s hand, despite her usually unflappable stature she bristled slightly at the feel of his skin. Wade began to shrink into his jacket before she pulled on his arm and into a hug. “May and Tony are going to kill you if you ever even think of making him cry. Good luck this weekend,” She whispered directly into his ear away from the other boys. 

“I’ll see you guys on Friday- we’re still sleeping over at your place, right?” MJ turned from Wade to Peter as she asked her question.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll see you guys then.”

Peter raised an eyebrow at Wade, clearly in question. He paused for a moment before shrugging and saying, “Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

“I’m probably incorrect in assuming you know May, but either way, I would make sure she knows our sleepover has increased by one from what I told her last week.”She and Ned turned and began walking away after stating that, leaving Wade and Peter standing at the table. 

Peter’s eyes widened as he realized he had forgotten to tell May about Wade. He had a week, although MJ was definitely trying to get him to alert his aunt sooner rather than later. 

"Petey, I'll see you for patrol tomorrow. I have some business to take care of tonight so I can ensure I'm free Friday. That alright?" 

"What- oh yeah, Wade. I'll see you tomorrow night. Bye!"

"Bye sunshine."


	6. Sleepovers Need Games (1.5 days before wedding)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Corona fucked me over (I wanted to have posted this about 2 weeks ago)  
>  I'll be posting the next 2 or 3 chapters as quickly as I edit them... But there are at least 4 more about this long before the end!

As Peter walked through the front door of their apartment he yelled out, "May, I gotta ask you something."

"Kitchen!" May responded, turning around as Peter walked in and sat at the island, a burned mess on one of the few pots they owned was sitting on the stove. May gestured to the mess, shrugged and said, "I'll deal with that in a minute. What's up!?"

"So, you know how I asked if MJ, Shuri, and Ned could sleepover tonight?" Peter bit his lip and he glanced between May and the counter in front of him. May nodded, giving him a moment before she realized he wasn't ready to speak again. 

"Honey? Is this about Wade?" She walked around the island and sat down next to Peter, slight concern written across her face. 

Peter nodded, his eyes showing his confusion at her accurate guess. “MJ texted me a few days ago. She told me you were supposed to tell me on Monday, but in case you forgot she wanted to let me know I should be expecting 4 additional children."

“Oh… She didn’t need to do that. Is that all she said?” Peter’s forehead wrinkled slightly as he tried to think about what MJ would have said to her- May usually would have confronted him right then and there when she found out. _why wait a few days?_

"Peter. Honey. I'm gonna stop you there. I already know." She put her hand on his shoulder, catching his eye and holding it as Peter's mouth dropped at her admission.  
"I've known for a while."

"Wait, what? This only happened like 2 weeks ago. You couldn't have known ... but, I mean, you are May." Peter shoved his chair back and was about to start pacing but May grabbed his arms and held him in front of her.

"Peter. Please calm down, you really shouldn't be freaking out about this. Honestly, I'm simultaneously surprised that it's only been 2 weeks and proud that you managed to keep it a secret that long."

"Well, it wasn't a secret- honestly I kinda forgot that I should tell you and then MJ reminded me Sunday and I just freaked out. Sorry, May."

"Baby, you're allowed to love whoever you want and I will never be mad at you. You didn't even need to tell me. I'm guessing I'd be able to tell once he gets here. Go get the extra blankets from the closet and set them up in the living room."

"We were actually just gonna sleep in my room-"

"Nope. I'm not letting teenage couples sleep behind closed doors in my house. Try again later. Go!" May shooed him out of the room. 

"What? It's just-" Peter cut himself off as he walked down the hallway and grabbed all the blankets he could grab from the closet, then laid them on the coffee table. He went to his room next to drop off his backpack in his room and grab the comforter and pillows off his bed, struggling to carry them all to the living room while his thoughts raced. _... Couples...But it’s just Shuri and MJ and wait... how does she even know about them? Does she think me and Wade are a couple? Wait, why would she think that?... Do I tell her now or wait until after the wedding?... Well, at least this way she won’t kick him out if anything goes wrong tonight, but... I'll tell her as soon as I get the chance tomorrow. Before the wedding..._ His thoughts wandered over everything that could possibly happen on Clint's farm.

 _Maybe after...yeah, after sounds good._

He set up the living room to the best of his ability, all the blankets and pillows on the couch to be fought over later, and the table clear for the pizza that would be arriving soon. He began walking back to his room to grab his phone and almost tripped over a stray pillow he dropped before. 

Suddenly, the doorbell rang twice, immediately signaling to Peter that it was Wade. He tried to get the door first, but May beat him and welcomed Wade with open arms. " Hi, Wade! I'm so happy to meet you. Peter hasn't told me too much about you, so I hope you won't mind me asking you a few questions." 

Wade glanced at Peter who was standing behind his aunt, looking stunned before coughing and gaining her attention. "Can I say hi first?"

"No. Come with me, young man. I'll deliver him back to you in a few minutes Peter, don't freak out." May walked straight into Peter's room, Wade following behind her obediently, his wide eyes meeting Peter's as they passed each other. Peter tried to give him a comforting smile, but once the door closed he remained stuck in place with a confused look in his place until he remembered, _she thinks we're dating_. Then he almost jumped out of his shoes and began freaking out. He remained frozen- this time sitting cross-legged on the ceiling- for several minutes until he realized he could use his super hearing, but by that time May was walking out of his room. She glanced up at her nephew, scoffing at his antics before signaling for him to jump down. 

"I would go talk to him if I were you. He was not ready- I'm a little sad you didn't warn him about me."

Peter walked into his room, and whatever he thought he was about to see was shattered by the confusion evident on the face of his friend sitting on his bed. "You okay? What happened?" 

Wade scoffed and scooted back on the bed. "I'm not really sure." His mind went over the conversation he just had before saying more.

\-----------  
Wade walked into Peter's room timidly, unsure of what to expect. May sat at her nephew's desk. watching Wade's internal discussion about whether or not he should sit on the bed. 

"Oh please hun, I know you know this is Peter's room. Sit on the bed, let's talk a bit." Wade hesitantly perched himself on the bed, looking down at his scarred hands until the woman clicked her tongue causing him to look up. "Thank you. I just wanted to ensure you're not planning to hurt my nephew. I could tell when you guys started being friends. My Peter was so happy and smiling so I do have to thank you for that." She grasped his hands gently, causing Wade to gasp and almost pull his hands away in fear. There was no way she could ignore the scars right now, but she just tightened her grip as she continued speaking. "I hope you know that I don't have anything against either of you guys, but I need to make sure my nephew is okay. That included vetting anyone he wants to bring into his life."

"Just like I told Ned if I ever do anything that hurts Petey you have my permission to kill me. That may be intense, but I just want everyone to know how I feel and that I would do anything to protect that boy." Wade finally detached his hands from her grasp, moving to sit on them as she took in his harsh words.

"I'm so glad to hear that Ned has talked to you, that boy is his best friend and I know he would do almost anything to ensure Peter's happiness and I would too. But I need to hear you say it."

"I'm sorry, what do you need me to say?"

"I'm gonna be straight with you, Peter may be obsessed with you, but I need to know exactly how you feel about him."

Wade sat on the bed, utterly shocked at her words. "Umm... He's my best friend. Ever since we met last year he's made my life so much better. He's somehow caused me to actually take care of myself- something I haven't done since I was about 14. Every night we go out together is better than the last and stopping crime alongside him makes me wonder why I wasn't doing it before- even when I got caught up in the opposite side of the tracks. He makes me laugh and every time he makes me smile I just want to return the favor. Uh, I haven't told Petey this, but he's more than just my best friend. He's the first person to truly accept me for who I am and I will forever be trying to pay him back for all he has helped me through. I think he's the best person I've ever had in my life- I... I love... him." Wade's voice petered out and he waited in pure silence until May shifted on the chair,

"Don't worry Wade, I already knew the moment I dragged you in here without letting you say hi to him. I will accept and love anyone my nephew loves- you're included in that, obviously." 

"Uhh.." Wade still wasn't ready to speak full words yet, his mind visibly reeling.

"I think you should talk to him, I'm gonna go grab the boy for you."

Before Wade could process her words she was out the door and Wade remained on the door, trying to figure out just what he's doing this weekend.

\------------------

"I think I'm okay. Your aunt's a force to be reckoned with baby boy." Wade cracked a smile, but it faltered when Peter sat down in front of him and grabbed his hands, reminding him of his conversation all over again. "Honestly I'm probably just overthinking everything. Are you excited for the wedding?"

"I think so. But before we talk about that I just wanted to apologize, not just for May but for not warning you about what I was telling her. It's not fair that you came into this not knowing what you're here for/ why I invited you to this wedding."

"Peter, I thought you just needed me to come with you? Isn't that it?"

"Yeah, no you're right, I just couldn't get the truth out to May, she looked so happy when she thought I was telling her we were dating. I didn't realize it meant she would attack you like that. I'm sorry."

"You already said that."

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you knew." Peter dropped Wade's hands and instead reached in for one of his shoulders, dropping his chin on the other in a weirdly loose hug. "In case we don't have that much time right now- if I do anything you don't want to please just tap me 3 times in a row and I'll stop."

"Whoa! What are you thinking of doing?" Wade chuckled, wide eyes scanning the room in broad sweeps. His shoulders stiffened at the feeling of Peter's breath on his ear.

"I don't know... I just want to make sure I give you an out if you need one. Like if we're in a room with people and you get anxious or something. Especially this weekend around all these guys. Neither one of us knows what to expect and if I make an impulsive decision or if you get uncomfortable around all of them I don't want you to hate me or feel trapped or something. I just hop-"

Peter's mouth stopped working when Wade pulled away from him, but it was nothing compared to how his mind went blank when Wade leaned forward until their noses bumped. Normally Peter would have laughed- they were this close all the time, but now he was stuck staring at Wade's eyes, which were focused on the lower half of his face. "Impulsive, like this?" And just as slowly as he leaned in he pulled away, bringing his eyes up to meet Peter's as he did. Whatever Peter saw there he confused for mirth and laughed it off as Wade backed up. 

Once they were a few inches apart and Peter could breathe again he took a shallow breath before exhaling, "Yeah, like that." 

3 important things happened in the next minute.

1- Peter leaned forward trying to rest his forehead on Wade's shoulder, but fell short and landed on his clavicle, hands clenched on his t-shirt.  
2- Ned rang the doorbell causing May to leave MJ and Shuri at Peter's door.  
3- MJ burst in through the door with no preamble, assuming Peter's Spider senses had already warned him to their presence. 

The results of such actions had painful consequences. Namely on Wade's jaw as Peter jumped so hard he knocked his head and his fist into Wade's jaw on his journey to the ceiling. Wade made a shallow whimpering noise as May and Ned quickly made their way down the hallway to see what the loud crash ( of Peter clumsily landing on the ceiling) was. Peter took a moment to take in the 4 new people in the room before slowly dropping himself down next to the bed. 

A stillness took over the room as everyone scanned each other's faces. Peter broke the silence after about a minute when he heard Wade's almost imperceptible whimper, "Are you okay?" He began to lean over but was pushed by Shuri as she came to sit in front of Wade and grabbed his face to see where he was hurt. 

She took in the dark bruise and pressed the pad of her fingers into his jawline, watching as the purple began to fade and feeling the jaw realign itself. " Well, you're almost healed now." She said, her eyes catching on the irregularities on his neck before being caught on the fingers cradling his jaw pushing a gasp past her lips. 

Peter quickly pushed Shuri off when he saw where her eyes were drawn to. He looked at Wade's jawline just as the redness faded into his skin color. "I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to freak out so badly." 

"I think you broke my jaw, Parker." 

"What were you guys doing that overrode your spider senses so much?" MJ's words ran over Wade's, causing Peter's to turn from concerned to red. 

"Nothing!" Peter turned around on the bed, looking MJ in the eyes. He saw the disbelief in her eyes, but luckily she was silent as May coughed from the doorway. 

"Let's go into the living room, the pizza should be here soon." She patted Ned on the shoulder as they turned around, whispering a soft, "Stay strong buddy." that only Peter and Ned could hear. All bags were dropped as she, Ned, MJ, and Shuri left the room; leaving the other 2 on the bed.

"Wade, I'm truly sorry. I hope I didn't cause too much-" Peter was cut off by Wade tapping him on the neck 3 times, "What is it?"

"You're apologizing too much and it's making me uncomfortable." Wade stood up from the bed and pulled Peter behind him into the hallway.  


"I'm-" Peter began to apologize again, but was cut off by Wade's hand over his mouth. 

"What was that?" Wade smirked as Peter attempted to speak through his hand, "I guess we'll never know."

"Hey lovebirds! Get your asses into the living room or no pizza for you." MJ yelled down the hallway, breaking them apart as Wade's hand left Peter's mouth to once again grab his hand. "Sorry for the language, May. They left me no choice." 

Soon after they all settled into the living room, the pizzas arrived and May took 2 slices to her room, warning the kids not to do anything crazy. 

Peter and Wade settled onto the love seat comfortably, one whole pie for themselves on their laps as they each ate a slice stolen from one of the other 2 still on the coffee table. Across from them Ned, MJ, and Shuri sat on the couch with their slices. 

"So, Shuri, Wade; Wade, Shuri. Princess of Wakanda, Spiderman's vigilante friend. Peter's boyf-best friend, my girlfriend. Now that you know basics facts, let's play 2 truths and a lie? Then we can get to the real games." MJ's introduction left many more questions to be desired, from everyone in the room. Wade’s face crinkled up in question, while Peter remained unaware of his friends' glances at him with his eyes in his palms. The entire room was silenced in tension, neither Wade nor Peter strong enough to end it - and MJ wasn’t willing to give them the satisfaction.

Ned spoke up first, "Princess Shuri doesn't know me. Can I do a short introduction first?" At MJ and Peter's nods, he gave a little overview to the group. "Ned Leeds, MJ and Peter's classmates, Guy-In-The-Chair for Spiderman, single. Umm... I love Star Wars and Legos."

"Great, now we all know each other. Shuri would you like to start?" She nudged her girlfriend to actually get her to go, but it was clear she didn't exactly want to go first.

"1- I have a PhD  
2- I created the Black Panther suit  
3- I'm the head of the science and information exchange for Wakanda"

"Everybody hold up the number of fingers of the one you think is the lie." MJ instructed the group, turning and winking at Shuri before turning back to the group.  
Ned and Wade held up 3 fingers, looking slightly shocked at Peter and MJ's lone fingers. 

"She has 3 PhDs, at least last I've heard." Peter shocked the teens as Shuri nodded at him and high-fived her gf. "Wade, you wanna go?" He tilted his head at the boy pleading for him to partake in this ice-breaker.

"Okay, baby boy- for you. Umm...  
1- I was in the Army.  
2- I once almost killed a guy with a paper clip.  
3- uhh... oh! I'm 21. "

Peter warily put up 2 fingers as MJ and Ned cautiously raised 3. Shuri hesitated before raising one- hoping somehow they were all wrong. "Thank you Shuri, you're the only one here who gets me."

"But you told us you were 20 on Sunday!" 

"You told me he wasn't hurt!" 

"My birthday was yesterday. And I said he wasn't feeling anything- he passed out shortly after the whole thing so he was fine. An ambulance picked him up before we even left." 

"But you clearly-"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Ned's voice rang out, cutting through Peter's beginning statements to Wade. 

"While I was out with Wade vigilante-ing there was an incident with a paper clip that I was told no one was seriously injured during... but I guess accidents happen." Wade just smiled at the boy, prompting him to hit the taller in the nose with his third slice of pizza. 

"Oh.. well I'm gonna go now.  
1- I've built a life-sized Darth Vader out of Legos.  
2- I met Thor once.  
3- My mom cuts the crusts off my lunch." Ned glanced at his friends, gauging their struggle at his choices.

Peter won that round, his sole finger showcasing his superior knowledge. "We built a Death Star. It wasn't life-sized, but we have plans." Wade and Shuri nodded in respect that he survived meeting Thor. 

" I'm next!  
1- I have a bachelor's degree.  
2- I'm a lesbian  
3- Peter's gay," MJ smirked at Peter as she spoke, watching him tense momentarily. 

Everyone except Wade raised 3 fingers, leaving him to look at his singular one in disdain. "You have a bachelor's in what? Engineering?"

"Nah. She got one in English just so she wouldn't have to take another English class next year." Ned cut off Peter and MJ both attempting to answer simultaneously.

"And Peter's bi." MJ added with a smile, "I just wanted to take that one from him before he got his turn." She winked at the pair, encouraging Peter to go and Wade to maybe do something, but he couldn't tell.

"Well, I guess all that's left is me so...  
1- I've met all the avengers  
2- I once did a backflip off the White House  
3- There have been 2 incidents where I thought I killed Wade."

"That's unfair." Wade refused to put up any fingers, watching the rest of the room internally debate themselves about Peter's life. MJ and Ned placed up 3 fingers, while Shuri hesitantly raised 2- remembering how quickly Wade's jaw had fixed himself before her eyes.

Eventually, Peter acquiesced, " I have never met Hope Van Dyne or Bruce Banner." 

There was pure silence until MJ screeched, "When exactly did you think you killed Wade?"

"I knocked him off a roof a few times- it was only the first time that I thought he died, and the second was when I tried to web away a guy's gun and it went off and hit him in the neck. "

Shuri and MJ held eye contact for several tense seconds before the princess won the right to speak, " So your healing factor is much stronger than Peter's. Especially with the lack of scarring on you."

"I wouldn't exactly say there's a lack of scarring princess, there's scars everywhere, even small ones on my face."

"Truth or dare time!" Ned decided to change the subject and upon seeing the relief on his best friend's face knew he had made the right call. 

"Oh! Yes. Rules, the game ends once everyone has either done 2 dares or has denied a dare. Peter you first"

"Dare." Wade could feel Peter sitting up straighter next to him, how confident he was to do whatever MJ sent his way.

"Kiss the hottest person in the room." She smirked and Wade could feel the shoulder nest to his tense momentarily.

"Looks or body temp?" Despite his obvious tension, his voice came out relaxed and caused everyone to laugh a bit while MJ made a show of thinking it through.

"I wanna say body temp, but there's not really a way for us to easily check if your senses are right, so Imma have to go with looks."

Peter quickly stood up and Wade was ready for him to go straight for Shuri before he turned around and gave Wade a peck on the lips. " I mean, is there really a way for y'all to check this either? This one is my opinion, the body temp is out of my control." He sat back down, now comfortably leaning on Wade's side- his perfect posture from before gone. Wade was trying too hard to not tense up.

"If you didn't kiss him I'm sure we would have argued a foul, so... I rest my case." 

"Alright! Ned, Truth or Dare?" Peter quickly drowned out MJ, staring her down before looking at his best friend.

"Truth."

"Okay, umm... How about what-"

"Which couple is cuter?" MJ cut into Peter's question, causing him to lean back on the chair and once again stiffen on Wade's side - who in the back of his mind notes that he stiffens a lot around his friends, even for someone with amped up senses. He's barely ever noticed Peter tensing up so much, even on patrols- though they're usually much father apart during those outings. _Couple... Is Peter upset that they're trying to keep May happy? She's probably listening in on this game and this just follows what she thinks she knows. RIght?_

"Umm... MJ that's a hard one." He makes a show of looking back and forth across the room, making eye contact with Peter before stating that, "despite not knowing either couple existed 2 weeks ago, Peter and Wade are the cuter couple. MJ, Shuri, you guys are just too strong and tough for that to be said about you- I know that the boys may have powers, but MJ and Shuri could kill me before you guys even came up with a plan of attack."

MJ and Shuri nodded in satisfaction, his explanation clearly placating them from losing. Wade glanced down at Peter, who merely shrugged and whispered, " They're cra- I don't know-uhh... Sorry??"

"And... Wade, Truth or dare?" 

"Dare!" There was a sudden glint in his eye that made Peter wary of what Ned would say next.

Before Ned even began speaking MJ leaned across Shuri to whisper in Ned's ear. She was so silent that Peter couldn't hear her, though it may have been because half of his brain was cycling through all the things they could try to make the ex-antihero do. "Wade, I dare you to break into Stark Tower and bring back Tony Stark's glasses."

"No!! NO, no, nononono no... no. Nope. We're not doing that." Peter gripped Wade's forearm and used his powers to keep him in place, even though he wasn't even attempting to move. 

"Parker, you don't have to go. This is just for Wade." MJ smirked at his face. 

"Well, he's not doing it either. That illegal, dangerous, and not to mention crazy! Stark Tower is all the way across the city and there's no way we can just take a 15-minute interlude for him to traverse the city and break into my fat- my mentor's building. We're done with this game. We're going to the tower tomorrow and I'm not risking our flight for your amusement." He stood up from the couch and grabbed Wade's arm, "Let's go."

The two boys went into Peter's room and began preparing for bed, Wade was uncharacteristically silent and Peter was unsure of how to approach him. So he decided to wait until they were alone without fear of someone barging in to ask about what was going on. "Sorry for dragging you out of there- I just freaked out and I'm already on edge."

"Yeah, you've been that way all week- since we had brunch with your friends at least."

"Sorry about that. After this weekend everything will go back to normal, plus we can talk tomorrow night- I promise. At least then we won't-" there was a knock on the door, "- get interrupted... Who is it?" 

"Ned. I was sent to get ready with you guys so that we could save time- courtesy of MJ."

After confirming that Wade had already changed, he opened the door for Ned.

"Sorry I broke up the game- MJ went crazy for the dare though."

"Oh, that wasn't MJ's. Her's was so much worse." Wade whistled and Peter's mind went back to his list of possible dares. 

They finished changing and preparing for sleep in silence. 

\-----

Meanwhile, MJ and Shuri were having a hushed discussion while cuddling on the couch.

"I see what you mean about Peter, that boy is in love."

"But what about Wade? I think he has a crush, but I can't tell? Ned's convinced they've been dating for a while, and at the very least I think they've been reciprocating feelings for a few months." MJ glanced up at the girl who's chest she was laying on. 

"Oh, that boy is whipped- he clearly demonstrated that they don't know much of the surface level stuff about each other, but they've definitely had deep conversations and developed a strong sense of trust." 

"Yeah, but I think Peter's gonna mess this up somehow, Peter is so wound up about this weekend and I think I made him realize his feelings and now he's even more awkward than usual. He's gonna push Wade away or something if he doesn't address it soon, I can feel it."

"Do you know if Wade knows what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean he seemed uncomfortable and uncertain when you almost referred to him as Peter's boyfriend and then again when Ned pronounced them the cutest couple, and he tensed up when Peter kissed him earlier- he was not expecting it. Hell, Peter tensed up when you called them a couple too!"

"Umm... I mean, I know that Peter asked him to be his date for this wedding because he accidentally said he has one. But I don't know exactly how much Wade knows."

" I think that they're on different wavelengths- like Wade might not know this is a fake relationship on top of just needing accompaniment."

"I don't even think Peter realizes they're pretending to be in a relationship. I'd ask either of them one-on-one, but I feel like Peter's not gonna be leaving Wade alone for a while."

"You're probably right."

"How did I get the smartest girl in the world?"

"I don't know. But I do know that we're sleeping on this couch." Shuri smirked at her girlfriend, who was now hovering above her on the couch

"That's right!" The boys exited Peter's room and walked into the living room to see MJ almost smothering her girlfriend in kisses. 

"Guys! Please have some decency." Peter covered his eyes as he walked over to the love seat he and Wade were sitting in before. 

"Like you guys can't handle that." She gets off the couch and Shuri joins her in the walk to Peter's room. 

Wade remains standing for a few moments, watching as Ned grabs two blankets and a pillow and curls up below the TV. He watches as Peter gets up off the loveseat to grab his comforter from the couch, "If they want the couch, we get the comforter. Grab a pillow please." He makes eye contact with Wade before quickly turning around and making his way back to the loveseat. "Quicker Wade, I'm tired." That was enough to unfreeze Wade's legs and he grabbed the nearest pillow- luckily one of the bigger ones- before following Peter to the chair. 

They curled up sideways on the chair, Peter curling into his chest before quickly falling into a deep sleep. Wade was frozen for several minutes before he heard MJ and Shuri in the hallway and curled himself around the boy and feigned sleep.

"Aw.. look at them, so cute." MJ 's voice was not hushed in any case, almost causing Wade to open his eyes at the contrast to the silence of the room. 

"I know. It's crazy to think they haven't told each other how they feel yet." Shuri's voice was much quieter and slightly muffled from the movements of them settling on the couch to sleep on. "Also, I can't believe we're going to sleep at 10:45... that should be illegal." MJ laughed and after some ruffling of blankets, the room returned to silence.

Wade remained still on his chair for several minutes before opening his eyes in the darkened room, the clock by the television said 11:07, the two girls on the couch slept with their heads on opposite sides, their feet and lower legs entangled in the middle where their blankets overlapped. He glanced down at the hero he was holding in his arms and gripped a little tighter, "Love ya, Webs." With that off his chest, he fell asleep quickly.

They woke up just before 8:30 and walked to the nearest IHOP, all five of them walking arm in arm. They sat at a circular table and ate quickly, returning to the apartment just over an hour after they left, finishing packing up their bags barely before Happy arrived downstairs. The kids sat in the back and the adults- May and Pepper sat in front of them while Rhodes left the back to join Happy in the front row of the limousine. While they drove Peter introduced his friends to the adults, blushing when Pepper remarked that Wade was a lucky guy after May whispered in her ear. Wade didn't notice, too busy glancing at MJ and observing her smirk before Shuri got her attention again. By the time he glanced back down at Peter he was staring at his shoes. 

_Hopefully the plane ride would be fast. This is a Stark Jet, right?_


	7. Stephen Needs an Introduction(1 day before wedding)

"I should just go later"

"Why? You agreed to meet him at 10. It's 10:37" Wong looked at his friend with a blank look- his expression of choice. 

"I know that, but Tony's asleep right now- barging into his room is taking our friendship too far." 

"Yeah, cause your friendship is such a platonic thing."

"What's that supposed to mean? I may have known him years ago, but we're still getting used to each other again."

"That may be true, but your feelings aren't new, so I suggest you think about that during this time."

"Think about what? That man is probably my best friend- since you're a coworker or whatever as you keep insisting. I'm not risking one of the best things in my life for anything emotional- already did that before." The masters of the mystic arts took a few breaths, looking around the sanctum to see if Stephen left anything- completely oblivious to Tony beginning to stir.

So, of course, Tony woke up to a sparkling portal just past the foot of his bed. Although he was used to Stephen's (And Wong's) particular brand of magic, waking up to it without preparation almost caused a panic attack. The two wizards stood on the other side of the portal, arguing about if Stephen should step through completely unaware of how the man in question had startled awake only moments before. Tony decided to watch and feigned sleep, only processing the parting words of Wong as he shoved Stephen through.

"Enjoy yourself. And then once he wakes up please behave and remember why you're there." He added a grunt just before closing the portal. 

Stephen remained standing at the foot of Tony's bed for a few moments, eyes softly analyzing Tony until he broke the silence, "How much did you hear?" 

"Just the last bit, why- were you talking about me?" Tony sat up in his bed, smiling as Stephen walked around and sat across from him on the bed. 

"Of course not, just some secure information about the sanctum for the next three days and prying ears were definitely not privy to it." The wizard scoffed as he laid his leg on the bed, comfortable despite never being in this room before and only being in the tower a maximum of 12 times. Maybe 15.

"Okay Sparkles, game plan time. We're dating so that Clint doesn't think I'm both a liar and an idiot." He glanced down the bed, looking away from the hands he was waving around to watch how Stephen was processing his words, "Just for the next 48 hours and in 3 weeks I'll tell them we broke up- only if they ask though. Understand?" 

Stephen took a moment to take in his words, He knew Tony had needed a fake date for the wedding, but it seemed like Tony was really worried about his old co-workers' opinions of him. Stephen refuses to even acknowledge that they were Avengers- if they couldn't handle authority and responsibility they accepted by the title then they definitely weren't worthy of holding the title of hero in any capacity- present or past.

"What if we didn't-" Stephen was in the middle of his question and about to bring Tony's hand into his when Col. Rhodes barged in with a huge platter of food. "FRIDAY told me you were awake and I made breakfast- here are the leftovers. I took the liberty of slightly warming them up for you- I don't completely hate you." Rhodes set the platter down on the opposite side of the bed from the two men before extending his hand out the wizard, "James Rhodes, I've heard a lot about you. I wish I could stay and chat but I gotta go file a technically last-minute flight plan and fuel up a jet with Happy."

"Nice to meet you, Rhodes. I guess I'll be seeing you on the plane then?"

"Yes. I'll co-piloting. I'll see you then." 

Rhodes immediately left the room, pausing on the other side of the door to text Pepper, who had sent him in there to make sure they were awake. FRIDAY would only tell them that the two men were in the room, she left no information as to what state they were in. 

**Rhodes:** They aren't dating yet?  
**Potts:** Sensed it too? Thank the gods it wasn't just me.  
**Rhodes:** Plane. We're having brunch.  
**Potts:** Of course. Curate questions.  
**Rhodes:** Offended you think I haven't done that already.

Back in the room, Stephen was watching as Tony began eating the food that was provided. "You were saying?" Tony nodded at Stephen, his chin lifting up and hitting his mug of coffee, forgetting it was being held directly in front of his face. Impulsively, Stephen froze the coffee in midair, stopping Tony in his tracks for a moment as he jumped up. "Thanks, Stephanie. You're a real lifesaver. This weekend is gonna be fun." 

"You're welcome. But what exactly am I supposed to be doing this weekend?" Stephen grabbed the mug and unfroze it 

"Honestly? Keep the ex-avengers off my back. Look scary and whatever- just like that, perfect. Keep that face in your Rolodex." Stephen's eyes widened as he realized he scowled at the term ex-avengers. "But mainly, I just want you to be my boyfriend for the weekend. I told Clint I was bringing a date and then I invited you so now everything is in place. We've been dating for 6 months, Pretty much since I started staying over at the sanctum. Umm... You don't actually know anyone coming, but Peter- the spider kid I told you about is bringing some friends, his aunt, and a date. Don't mention you know he's spiderman, he doesn't know you know and anybody who isn't taking the jet doesn't know. His aunt is a little scary, but as long as Peter and his scary friend are placated everyone else should be fine. Scary friend, MJ, do not lie to her- she will know and she will attack. The only person I've ever seen lie to her and get away with it is Pepper. Rhodes hasn't met her but I don't even think he would try. His other friend, Ned, will honestly be flabbergasted by your cape so much so he won't be able to talk to you until tomorrow. And then there's-" Tony blinked and cut himself off as he saw Stephen lean forward and grab his hand.

"Wait! Can I ask 2 questions?" At Tony's nod he continued, "First, am I allowed to stop you from rambling? And second, do I have to be civil?"

"First, yes but not now. And Second, yes but not the entire time- during the wedding is the only time I'll require your complete civil personality. But also please don't be an utter dick the whole time."

"Understood. Continue"

"Thank you. So let's see. Boyfriend, the kid, his people... You met Rhodey; Pepper and Happy will be the only others on the plane with us that we haven't discussed. They're my family so as long as they know I like you they'll ultimately be fine, but they will still intimidate you at some point in the next 2 days."

"I don't scare easy."

"Okay big boy, we'll see about that." 

\-------(1 hour later)-------

“Why do we have to fly there? You know I could just as easily portal us there later tonight- right? If you would tell me where we’re going that is.” Strange stood on the tarmac in jeans, a blue-grey t-shirt, and his cloak. The look somehow contrasted, yet perfectly complemented Tony in his white jeans, Metallica t-shirt, gold tie, and fitted red blazer. Stephen managed to drag him to the tarmac 15 minutes before the scheduled take-off, a fact that Tony decided against rebutting with as Happy drove their accompaniment 

“Because I need you to actually interact with some of these people before we get the farm or else Clint and everybody will never believe I actually have a boyf-”  
“Mr.Stark! Thank you for letting us take your jet with you. We all really appreciate it.” Peter quickly ran up to and hugged Tony as Stephen watched with an amused and surprised smile. “Even Shuri agreed to take your jet with us- which apparently is a big deal.”

Behind him slowly approaching the jet were 4 teens and 4 adults all talking amongst each other. Shuri, Ned, MJ, Wade, May, Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey were all making their way over to the 3 guys standing at the foot of the stairs. Happy and Rhodey went up to the cockpit to get the plane ready to fly after a brief nod to the two men while introductions were made. 

“Alright, so this is MJ, Ned, my Aunt May, Princess Shuri, and Wade. I would hope you know Pepper, but if not she’s the best!” Peter’s excitement and nervousness were evident in his voice- there was a slight tremble that reminded Tony of the first time he met the boy. 

“Hi everyone. It’s nice to meet those of you I haven’t met before- even though that’s only Wade, was it?” Tony was cordial as ever, though he faltered a bit as he glanced beside himself and seemed to suddenly remember the man standing next to him. “And, uhh I’d like to introduce you all to Dr.Stephen Strange.”

All the kids seemed incredibly interested in his cloak, which was flapping in an invisible storm behind him, but they were interrupted before even saying hi by Happy yelling out to the group, “All aboard!! Since everyone is here it's time to take-off.”

Peter and Wade were the first ones up the stairs just as Tony started analyzing the older boy’s face. “Hey, Fri? Scan the kid’s boyfriend’s face- I wanna know exactly who he is.”

“Will do sir.” Friday’s soothing voice came through his glasses as he waited for everyone to start up the stairs before glancing at Strange who gestured for him to go ahead. They quietly ascended the stairs just as Happy started the engines, Tony placing the glasses into his pocket for later as they entered the plane.


	8. Why Rhodes Needs a Co-Pilot (24 hours to wedding)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey and Pepper never got to have brunch with Stephen so the place ride will just have to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor past injury in this chapter. Nothing graphic- only mentioned.

After about 45 minutes in the sky, Rhodey walked in the cabin and after a quick peek around sat directly across from Tony and Stephen. Pepper soon joined and after a not-so-gentle cough from Tony, they began their questioning. 

"Tony promised he would bring you to Brunch and as I'm sure you know that didn't happen. So we decided to introduce ourselves and get to know you now that he can't run away." Pepper's smile relaxed Stephen, but he could tell she was a single muscle twinge away from attacking him. "So tell us about yourself. Tony hasn't exactly been forthcoming with the details."

Stephen glanced at Tony, seeing resignation on his face and raised an eyebrow in question. He wasn't sure if they knew he wasn't actually dating the man or not. Tony followed Pepper's eyes to Stephen and caught his question, "Tell the truth."

Stephen nodded and began with how they met most recently, " I'm sure he's told you about the sanctum, its where I work and live most of the time. It's in New York City, but that's the most I'll say. Also assuming you two know about the mystic arts as well. One day maybe 8 months ago my proximity alarm went off on the front door. Imagine my surprise at coming eye to eye with Tony Stark. The last time I saw this guy he's accidentally crashed one of his suits into my apartment a few years ago and before that we met at a gala for the hospital I worked at before any of this mess with powers and suits occurred. But anyway, I have no idea how he entered the premises, the door doesn't even open for me- I have to portal- but he got in and after a discussion about the last almost year of our lives he just kept stopping by. It's annoying as I'm sure you know, but if you promise not to encourage him I am willing to admit he is brilliant company." He got so caught up in gaining the approval of Tony's best friends he didn't think through his words as he said them. He glanced at Tony and was met with a look of fear. 

"He crashed his suit into your apartment? When did that happen?" The colonel seemed eerily calm and Tony's hand gripped Stephen's forearm with such ferocity he almost thought the man was going through a panic attack. He connected the dots as he collected his memories of that day. It was interesting- he had heard that Tony had become Iron Man, but seeing it was a different story- he also sort of forgot what the man looked like. 

\-----------

He had just made tea and was about to portal himself to the sanctum when he felt the building shake- it was so strong he didn't register the sound of a crash or broken glass until he walked out of the kitchen and saw a mangled red and gold tin can on top of his coffee table. It was that day he decided to move into the sanctum full time. Even when Tony had flipped up the visor he hadn't recognized that the man in front of him was Tony Stark, much less that this was the Iron man suit only a few feet away... 

"Care to help?" The suit opened up and a slightly bloody man removed himself from the metal and stumbled forward before collapsing on the light grey couch. 

Stephen was struck with how familiar the man was, but that thought was quickly overtaken by the fact that he was now laying on his couch with a look of pain etched across his face. Once he carefully placed his cup of tea down on the side table, he noticed the man watching him and as he approached he saw a flicker of realization cross his face. "Can I help? You're very lucky to have been defenestrated into my living room- I'm a doctor." 

"Yeah, I remember." It was at this moment Stephen placed the red and gold pile on the rug behind him. 

"Tony?" 

"Idiot." The shorter man's scoff turned into a moan as he tried to shift on the couch. "But yeah, some help would be nice."

Stephen quickly left the room to grab his suture kit and some other necessary materials, as well as pour a second cup of tea to steep. Upon his return, he was greeted with his old best friend laying on his couch and bleeding from a shallow gash on his side. "Oh, of course, make yourself at home by throwing your dirty clothes all over the place." He eyed the shirt in his path with disdain before kicking it aside. 

"Not sure if you've noticed, but that shirt is holding all my blood in it at the moment- your floors will remain pristine." And he was right, there was absolutely no blood on the floor near the shirt nor its old location. Less could be said about the off-white couch. 

"Billionaires." His voice reverted into doctor-mode, emotionless and arrogant, as he settled himself alongside the man's laceration. "This is gonna take a few stitches. Want anything for the pain before I begin?" 

"Did you really not recognize me there? Or did you just assume I wouldn't remember you? Either one is crazy, but I wanna know." The man shook his head when Stephen offered him a pill bottle. 

Stephen ignored his question and began stitching, causing the man intermittent grunts of pain interspersed with curses until he was done. "Don't move." Stephen grabbed alcohol swabs and set about cleaning the rest of the man's chest and face of blood. As he did so they caught up on the past few years of their lives. Tony remained on his couch for the next 2 days, never once asking for more than Stephen provided, except for some clothes. 

By the time Tony was cleared to stand he spent the next 6 hours repairing his suit using the minimal tools Stephen was willing and able to provide him with. They had also spent much of that time debating science versus magic- coming to absolutely zero agreements. 

\---------

Tony gave his best friends a very bare-bones rundown of those 2.5 days. Their glances at each other made Stephen realize they had no idea their medical sleepover had even happened, much less that they knew each other since 2004. Which made Stephen wonder how much of a secret their friendship truly was even in its early days. When Tony remarked that it was probably the first time in 3 years he'd ever rested until cleared

After several minutes of silence Rhodes finally piped up, "So.. is that all that's happened between you guys recently?"

Stephen glanced at Tony again. _What did I get myself into?_

Thankfully Tony started a coughing fit that brought Peter's attention to their conversation. It devolved from there and quickly spiraled into yet another discussion about magic and science, causing Rhodey to grimace and return to his place in the cockpit. Pepper merely leaned back in her chair and patiently observed the conversation, looking up from her phone from time to time to make eye contact with Tony, ensuring he didn’t think their questioning was over.


	9. Natasha needs an Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhodes and Happy have landed the plane, now it's time to get settled on the farm. First introductions are always tense, right?

Walking onto the farm brought back memories for Tony. Strange grabbed his hand as the walked down the ramp after noticing him tensing up. Pepper and Happy led the pack, followed by May and Rhodes. The 5 kids walked half a stride behind, Wade and Peter at the back of that pack. Maybe 10 feet behind them Strange was attempting to stop Tony from marching ahead. 

"What! Strange, I know you’re still a doctor and everything, but I promise you I am not one of your patients anymore." Tony stubbornly stomped his foot into the ground as he turned to face the sorcerer. 

"You are so anxious right now- I could feel it since we got close and this is the first time I've touched you since we got off the plane."

"Okay... I mean this is the first time I'm pretending to date somebody just to avoid looking stupid- so excuse me for being a bit nervous about-."

"First of all, that's not what this nervous energy is about. Second, I'm sure there have been many other moments where you risked looking stupid without this possible incident. Third, am I supposed to kiss you at any point this evening? I was gonna talk to you about it on the plane but then we got ambushed and then distracted." Stephen tilted his face upwards until he was forcing Tony's eyes to meet his and once they matched with his they refused to let go.

"Umm.. whatever you're comfortable with. I have no boundaries- wasn't allowed since my dad worked for the government." Tony attempted to joke the tension out of their eye contact, but unfortunately, Stephen just intensified it and his grip at the words."That was a joke- I admit it was bad, but I was hoping it would work. I just haven't been here since- a while."

"Okay Tony, you win this round- but after this wedding, I'm taking my payment in the form of a _long_ conversation." They held eye contact for a moment longer until Tony nodded and allowed Stephen to turn him around to face a certain assassin walking their way.

\---------------  
Meanwhile, Rogers and Natasha watched from the window as the two men conversed. Rogers looked particularly concerned at this development. "I didn't know Stark was bringing someone. Who is he?"

"Stephen Strange. Top neurosurgeon until he ran himself off the road- completely messed up the nerves and muscles of his hand. Not even he would have been able to fix them. He disappeared shortly after several surgeries and even more refusals. Went to Nepal, but after that, I have absolutely no knowledge of his current whereabouts or career. Nor did I know they knew each other much less were together," Natasha seemed troubled that she didn't have all the information, but after seeing Tony's date's name she did her best to gather as much information as was possible in the few hours she hadn't spent setting up the wedding. Steve didn't like it either and he looked ready to ask more questions but she cut him off before he even got a word out. "Yes, that is all I could find out about him... No, I don't have any hypotheses either... Yes, you'll be polite and listen to what they have to say to me."

"Say to you when?" Steve looked truly confused as she walked by him.

"When I go reintroduce myself to them." and with that Natasha went out to greet the approaching group. 

The 9 member-strong family all seemed to freeze in unison as Natasha approached- though Shuri and MJ froze more in awe than anything else. "Good morning Miss Potts, how are you doing?" She was on her best behavior, being as cordial as possible in case the impressions from her assistance to the CEO from years ago was somehow still intact. "Happy, Colonel, Princess." She nodded at each of her previous acquaintances in turn as she spoke. She glanced over the bald man’s head at Tony and Stephen as they held back watching her interactions with the group.

"Hi Natasha, this is MJ. She's a big fan of both of us." Shuri's voice brought Natasha to the spunky girl in front of her. 

"Hello MJ, nice to meet you. I'll make sure to come by and talk to you during the reception” MJ quickly grabbed her girlfriend's hand and smiled at the assassin before they ran inside. 

"Hi Miss Natasha, I'm Peter Parker. This is my aunt May, my best friend Ned, and my b-best friend Wade." Peter tripped over his words and looked a bit mortified, but fortunately, Nat was used to nervous people.

"Hello Peter, I remember meeting you- one of the new recruits for the Young Scholars program." She and Clint had only met him twice and both had been during Clint's ejection from the Avengers when he was 'interning' for Stark Industries- he reminded himself to text his friends to remind them of his cover once he was inside. "It sure is nice to meet you all, if you could excuse me. Go inside and anyone should be able to show you around. Lila and Cooper also put up signs for most rooms, you’re either in the house or the barn." With that Natasha passed by the small group and walked over to the 2 men.

"Hey, Tony. how's it going?" She placed her hand on his shoulder just long enough to ensure she got his focus, resulting in a nod of acknowledgment from the man before quickly returning all her limbs back into her personal space. Then she focused her attention on the taller man beside him. "And how might you be Doctor?"

"I'm good. Thank you." This time Tony noted that Stephen stiffened as she implied they had already met- not surprising for her honestly. 

"It's been a while. How was Nepal?" The spy smiled her typical deadly smirk full of mirth as she showed several of her cards. 

"It's been forever actually, I don't believe we've ever truly been introduced. It's nice to meet you, I'm Stephen." he stuck his hand out for her to shake, but she just rested her hand on his shoulder just long enough to be longer than a pat. Stephen seemed taken aback by this action and she realized she may have misinterpreted his stature for comfort as he stiffened.

Tony took Stephen's hand in his as he began speaking to his old friend. "Hey, Nat. I hope you're doing well. If you excuse us I'm gonna go make sure my so-prodigy doesn't destroy this house." 

Natasha watched as Tony dragged Stephen across the driveway, hearing whispers of a 'prodigal son' before they were out of earshot.

As they went up the stairs Stephen allowed the shorter man to go up 2 stairs ahead and when Tony got to the top step he pulled back on their attached arms. He tried to get Tony to meet his eyes, but the shorter man wasn't having it. "Stephanie, we agreed to talk after the wedding so unless you saw a woman walking down an aisle in the 5 minutes we've been here I have no idea what you-"

Stephen cut him off by kissing him, the 2 stairs forcing him to lean upwards just slightly to get the right angle. Just as quickly as he surged forward he pulled back and smirked.

Tony was completely silent for several moments, eyes widened beyond belief, meeting Natasha's eyes for barely a second before turning back to the magician. "Excuse me. Don't you dare use kisses to try to get your way this weekend. I will let you know that from this moment on if you kiss me while I'm talking I will keep speaking- you can't stop me." His last few words were proven true as he spoke against Stephens's lips before turning around and leaving him flabbergasted halfway up the stairs. 

_Well, this is going to be interesting._ Stephen was frozen for a moment but followed Tony up the steps after a curtain shifted in his peripheral vision.

Once they were inside, all of them were sent back out again to grab their bags and then make the walk out to their sleeping quarters. Shuri and MJ made an immediate impression on Lila and she asked if they wanted to sleep in her room instead of the barn. MJ accepted for both of them without a second thought and dragged her girlfriend to the plane to grab their bags before she could comment. 

This left the rest of the group to fend for themselves in finding their rooms in the barn. Happy, Rhodes, Pepper, and May found their rooms on the first floor and the remaining 5 found rooms on the second floor. Tony and Stephen directly across from the room Peter and Wade ended up having all to themselves, Ned claiming the room originally meant for the girls. 

Tony and Stephen quickly settled into their room, Stephen using magic to put their clothes away and warm up the room. 

"Thanks Stevie" Tony laid down on the bed, rubbing his palms together as the room warmed up to his ideal temperature. "This is pretty nice, huh? A weekend away from the city. Away from the hustle and bustle."

"I'm sure there'll be some hustle and bustle here. These are your old pals anyway." Stephen tore his glance away from the window and walked over to the bed, sitting on the bed just as they had done that morning. "By the way, I never asked you, how did Peter get invited- you did say they don't know his identity." 

"Oh, well everyone, except Coulson and Banner and probably Thor, think he's my intern and that he won an Essay contest I did at his high school a little under 2 years ago. He hangs out at the compound on weekends and has met almost all the Avengers. Hope still wants me to arrange a meeting between them to discuss physics- sure, she doesn't trust me with her suit but she'll trust the kid."

"I mean, from how you talk about him he does seem incredibly bright."

"Yeah, yeah, but it's the principle of the thing okay? If you're gonna trust my kid you should trust me."

"I understand, but you're still a little high strung about being here so we're just gonna sit here and take a breath." 

"Thanks. I'm glad you agreed to come with me." Tony relaxed back onto the pillows again as the room went into easy silence until Tony had to move again (about 15 minutes). "You ready? As much as I'd probably want to push this moment back a few more months, we should go." 

"After you" Stephen held open the door, watching Tony groan and leave the bed, quickly passing Stephen and making it downstairs to the door before waiting for him to catch up.

"Ready?" Tony glanced back at him upon hearing him exit the stairs, "You're gonna bring cloakie? Is that smart?"

The Cloak of Levitation closed itself around Stephen's neck for a moment before laying flat and allowing gravity to shape it, as though saying _I got this_. At Stephen's nod, he turned back and grabbed his arm as soon as they were close enough and they walked the 10 feet to the house.

Inside they found a crowded living room, with barely any space to sit. Tony began leading Stephen to the open recliner when Pepper grunted and stopped him in his tracks. After a few seconds of prolonged eye contact Tony continued leading Stephen towards the chair, it was in the back corner of the room in between Laura and Clint seated on the couch to their right and T'Challa and Steve Rogers on chairs to their left. 

"Just catching up a bit," Pepper whispered to the boys as they passed her to sit down. 

"Yeah, Pepper was just telling everyone about how easy your old job is." Rhodes watched his best friend sit half on top of the doctor.

"Well, I'm sure it is an easy job when you're as qualified as she is. And besides, I love just being in R&D. I get to tinker in my lab as much as I want and Pep only drags me to meetings 3 days out of the month." He relaxed against his date, sitting back to the conversation with Stephen, who was also abstaining from the conversation, though they both noticed Natasha eyeing them from directly across the room. 

After about 15 more minutes of conversation, Laura got up to go get Nathaniel, the newest addition to the Barton clan while Clint went outside to ring the dinner bell. Laura quickly returned, bringing her son and four young women with her. Shuri, MJ, and Wanda found seats on the floor in the middle of the room while Lila joined her parents on the couch. Ned, Peter, Wade, and Cooper were the only ones missing, but they would soon arrive.


	10. Rehearsal Dinners need a Speech (19 hours until Wedding)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rehearsal dinner time. 
> 
> (basically just a transition chapter, but the next few chapters will hopefully make up for it.)

Once he settled in his room, Ned joined Peter and Wade in theirs, finding Cooper already accosting them with questions. Despite his father not knowing about Peter's Spider activities, he had quickly become friends with the boy after meeting once when Clint was packing up his room at the tower. And then after an errant text told the boy under the promise of not telling anyone else. Wade felt comfortable enough that when Cooper asked he willingly told him he was Deadpool, and he trusted the boy not to reveal it to anyone. 

"So you guys patrol together? That's so cool! And Ned-" He turned to the boy in question and gestured for him to sit beside him on the second bed in the room, "Are you the guy-in-the-chair for both of them, or just Spiderman?" 

"I'm Spiderman's guy-in-the-chair, I wouldn't say I'm _just_ his, but he's the only superhero I provide my services to at the moment." He settled across from Peter and Wade and they continued talking about patrol and highschool until the bell rang to signal the commencement of the rehearsal dinner. 

"Looks like it's time... If you guys want, after we have 'dinner' the four of us could sneak up into my room and play some video games. Maybe Pietro will join us too." He saw three nodding heads before he turned and led the pack back to the house, finding everyone else gathered in the living room looking at them expectantly as they sat- waiting to be told they could traverse the hallway and enter the kitchen to get food. 

The rehearsal dinner began at 3 in the afternoon. The couple decided that since it was a family-only event they'd leave the actual evening before the wedding for everyone to catch up. It was very relaxed, the kitchen was covered with serving dishes, pots and pans covered the table, and they were soon to be reseated in the living room. Several chairs and a second couch had been flown in for the occasion- including renovations to the barn adding a few bedrooms almost specifically for this occasion. Before the rehearsal speeches began everyone lined up to get food. 

Peter and Tony ended up in line together. Peter had two plates ready to be loaded up before he even arrived at the buffet. 

"So kid, how is everything going with Wade?" Tony couldn't help but bark a laugh at Peter's facial expression. He somehow looked equal parts ashamed, nervous, taken aback, and happy with his shoulders competing with his eyebrows in terms of height. All in all, Tony decided it was a good look for the boy. 

“What do you mean?” Peter glanced over at the boy bonding with Barnes about something concerning swords or katanas

“I just meant how he’s getting along with others around here- I know meeting a bunch of superheroes can really throw someone for a loop. You might understand you’re dating spiderman, but once you meet the rest of the crew it becomes real so fast.”

Peter jerked as Tony’s words hit him- he never even thought about Wade like that. _How could I have just believed he’d be fine here on his own? He doesn't even like being around me without his mask... and now I've left him on his own with a bunch of strangers._ With that thought, Peter vowed to never leave Wade’s side for the rest of the trip. After he got food though- he wasn’t jumping down the line when he was 5th- right behind the family of honor. 

“Oh. um… yeah, Wade’s typically pretty good with people unless they get on his nerves too much, but I’ve been helping him learn techniques to calm down at times…” Peter let his words trail off at the end and looked down at his shoe. Tony joined him in investigating the leather before being interrupted. “How is Mr.- Dr. Strange-Stephen doing? I know you guys have known each other for a while, but how is he acclimating to the superhero life?”

Tony paused- unprepared to answer that question when he didn’t even know where the doctor was at the moment. “Stephen’s good. He’s uh, he’s getting the hang of it pretty quickly- we had actually met before all the superhero mess so he’s had time to mentally prepare before he even got into it. He was in Nepal when I first became Iron Man, returned home sometime after the aliens in New York and he was my doctor after that for a few days, he didn't even remember who I was for a moment- it was a hilarious moment when he realized, kid." 

"Oh wow, Mr.Stark I had no idea... that's so cool- no wonder you guys are so close." Peter was 2 wrong breaths away from hyperventilating and Tony was hyperaware of any signs of distress. 

"Hey kid- Underoos, look at me- don't stress out too much. Wade seems like a good kid and if he can survive you- I’m sure he can survive this.” Peter held his eyes as Tony breathed slow and steady- allowing him to follow along until Tony gestured for him to move; it was his turn to grab some food. "If you want, we can talk later. You know where I'll be."

After they all got food, they settled back into their claimed spots in the living room. A few couples had ended up squishing themselves into the smaller sofas, with the fantastic four- Pepper, Rhodes, Happy, and May seated themselves reasonably comfortably on one of the two couches. The happy couple and their kids were seated across from them on the other. Shuri, MJ, Ned, Wanda, and Pietro sat in front of the couches around the coffee table. Steve Rogers and T'Challa sat across from Natasha and Phil Coulson in the few actual chairs in the room.

Peter and Wade were strewn across each other on a plush brown lazy boy in the corner of the room- each holding one plate while their second was on the side table behind Peter's back. Sam and Bucky both tried to claim a love seat neither had been sitting in before at the same time and ended up seated together with their legs tangled together. They scoffed slightly in annoyance before leaning into each other. Thor sat on the ground in between Bruce's legs as the scientist sat on a paisley rocking chair. Lastly, Stephen sat on the dusty blue recliner with Tony perched half on his lap and half on the side table.

Natasha stood once everyone was settled and looked around the room, smiling at everybody in her own special way. 

"Hello everyone. As you all know we're here to celebrate the union between the wonderful and Amazing Laura and her entourage Clint. As the de facto wine aunt and Laura's Maid of Honour I just have to say that I am so happy for them. Clint, don't fuck this up please- I like all of them and I can't promise to side with you in a divorce." Tense chuckles rang out as she spoke, but Natasha quickly shifted tones, "When Clint and I first met he helped me become the person I am today and I could never repay him for everything he's helped me with. He's the reason I am who_I am today - here with all of you. Over the years I truly believe we've become a family. I'm forever grateful for the two families I will forever cherish.

" Despite our friendships being forged from a moment of death. This team has brought life back into my life again and I will be forever paying you all back for that. But we're here for a celebration of togetherness and the union of Laura and Clint. You two are perfect for each other. The few people around here in relationships can only hope their futures end in the amazingness you have and for the rest of us-"

She paused and made clear eye contact with Coulson, Pepper, Steve, and T'Challa. The CEO and the King both smirked when her eyes moved on from them, but she continued as though none of that had happened, " - the rest of us can only hope to find a partner as perfect for us as you guys are for each other. Although you've already been married for years already, I hope your renewed vows tomorrow will reimbue your marriage with the perfection you've always had. To Laura and Clint" She raised her glass before returning to her seat among light applause.

After she sat down Coulson took his turn at standing, facing most of the room except for Peter and Wade who could just make out his left profile as he spoke.

" As my counterpart has said, I'm incredibly grateful we're all standing here today. Despite me being dead for 17 seconds, I would never miss this day- I wasn't even sure if it would happen really. But regardless, we're all here right now- the 6 heroes who began this journey and our friends and family. Though this family hasn't always seen eye to eye with each other, we've always been there for each other and I am glad we could all make it here to celebrate the first of us to make the commitment we can only hope to be able to make to someone.

"Clint was one of my most memorable recruits and though Fury regretted accepting him almost immediately, I have almost always been proud of how well you've done. When you brought Natasha in I remember thinking you guys would be the best team SHIELD had ever had, but watching you and Laura together has proven me wrong. As Nat has already said, all of us here hope to find at some point in our lives. 

"Laura, although I met you after you guys were married, there is no one else I would have thought could handle your amazingness and your bright spark. Clint, I've always known it would take an exceptional person to take on you on as a friend much less a partner, but you- Laura- have proven yourself to be a beyond-exceptional person. Clint is lucky and humbled to have such a powerful wife. Congratulations on 15 years of marriage. Here's to a lifetime more!"

The entire room paused when the Agent said '15 years' as only the family- The Bartons, Natasha, and the twins- had known just how long they've been married. It was quickly broken by the children seated on the floor cheering for the speeches/the family; MJ stole a pointed look at Peter who snapped out of his light slumber and began clapping, startling Wade into clapping as well.

Finally, Laura and Clint stood up, everybody’s clapping beginning to quiet down as they gave each other swift kisses on the cheek- causing all 5 of their kids to gag, though Nathaniel was probably just registering his mom left him or maybe he was just getting hungry again.

"Now that that's done- let's eat and enjoy the rest of our night. Thank you guys for coming out!" Laura smiled as Clint grabbed her and dipped her into an actual kiss, causing some applause as well as more gagging. 

After some time focused on eating, everyone quickly settled into conversations with the people around them.

The kids surrounded the coffee table and quickly started discussing the newest video games, drawing the Barton kids to slide off the couch to join in. Tony noticed that Peter and Wade hadn’t joined in and a glance at the two of them showed Peter had fallen asleep in Wade’s lap and the older boy was running his fingers through the boy’s hair.

It was domestic, but Wade’s face looked like his mind was at war. His eyebrows would scrunch up and his line of sight would shift towards his hand before traveling back to the boy’s face and softening out. The sharp line of his lips would smooth out and his hand would visibly relax. Tony watched this pattern several times before Wade’s head viciously snapped up and captured his eyes. Tony tried to give him a placating and supportive look, his eyebrows spread wide on his face and a slight smile across his features, but he wasn’t sure if it came across how he wanted. Wade just signed and leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling for a minute before closing his eyes. 

Stephen leaned in close, whispering in his ear, “They look cozy, at least more comfortable than sitting on a table.” 

“You know what Stephanie?” Tony made eye contact with Rhodes, the man raised a single eyebrow at him, stopping his current line of thinking. 

“What?” 

“Nothing, nevermind.” Tony slid off the table and fully onto Stephen’s lap, sitting up on Stephen’s right thigh with his heels resting on his left.

Stephen just chuckled at Tony's petulant face and made eye contact with Rhodey, who had a similar expression directed towards the man. "If you say so," Stephen drew the man into his chest as they both leaned back, Stephen's upper body almost sinking into the back of the chair. 

"Are you gonna fall asleep on me?" The genius glanced upwards at the doctor, taking in how his eyes were closed. 

"First of all, I am not on you. Secondly, absolutely not. But if you're leaning on me we probably won't be drawn into conversation so I was going to take this moment of rest. I'd advise you to do the same." 

As always, their luck wouldn't follow Stephen's logic.

T'Challa turned to them and began asking questions almost immediately after Stephen's words left his mouth. Fortunately, he seemed to be the only one- besides Rhodes- to be paying them much attention. His focus seemed to be more about Tony's technology and Stephen's medical knowledge than anything else, which allowed them all to move into an easy conversation. About an hour or two later the conversations began flowing into different rooms and Stephen and Tony took their leave and went to their room, trying to get away before being drawn into more conversations.

Cooper, Ned, and Pietro eventually woke Peter up to go play video games, who then dragged Wade behind them and up the stairs. They didn't talk much but passed around the four controllers, giving almost everyone a fair turn. Pietro and Wade were exceptionally skilled at anything involving a gun or fast reflexes while Ned and Peter were the ultimate duo. It wasn't until 7:00 that they snuck back downstairs to grab dinner- seconds from the rehearsal dinner that was really a lunch.

The only others in the kitchen were the girls, who had taken up camp in the living room after the adults cleared out. All 9 young adults ate together in the living room before going off on their separate ways. Pietro, Ned, and Cooper returned to the attic to play a few more video games before going to bed, while the four girls went to Lila's room. Peter dragged Wade to their room in the barn, still tired from the hecticness of the day and determined to keep the older boy from freaking out.


	11. Peter needs less words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of events that happen the night before the wedding.  
> Peter and Tony talk  
> Stephen winds up spilling a secret to Sam and Bucky  
> Wade freaks out in the bathroom and Steve happens to see the aftermath  
> Pater and Wade have a discussion- and a hug

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character injury happens here- it's Wade and it is kinda glossed over(sorry) not gory, but there is some blood. 
> 
> I'm also going to come back and probably heavily edit this, but I wanted to get it out.

Tony assumed Peter would find him. He just didn't think it'd be in the middle of him and Stephen almost kissing, but it was just his luck.

All three of them turned red and the taller man quickly rose off the bed and excused himself. " I'll be back later. Take your time. "

A large part of Tony wanted to chase after the man, but looking into Peter's eyes had him shifting further into the bed.

The boy silently joined him on the mattress and stared at his palms for a moment. He took several deep breaths before glancing up to meet Tony's eyes. " I think I'm in love."

Tony was only able to keep a straight face for about 5 seconds before he broke down in laughter. "Sorry kid, I just can't believe you think that's an issue. That boy looks at you like you put the sun in the sky. And honestly, you look at him as if he's the best thing that ever happened to you. I can tell he's calmer when you're around. I know I'm not the only one who assumed you guys had already told each other this." 

Peter's eyes betrayed his screaming mind. He didn't want to tell his mentor he let him think they were dating when they weren't. So he remained silent, staring at the sheets until he heard the billionaire sigh. He watched as Tony grabbed his favorite pair of sunglasses and just as he got his breathing under control he heard his mentor choke.

The moment Tony placed his glasses on he was bombarded with information on the vigilante Deadpool. EDITH also provided surveillance footage of the man and Spiderman together on several occasions. "What have you been doing with Deadpool?"

Peter sputtered at the unexpected question. "Uhhh... I can explain."

"Continue." Tony tilted his head to encourage the boy. 

"Well, I kinda, sorta, met him one day in December and since then we've been going on patrols together and somewhere around maybe February we just kind of became friends. We'd been getting closer and closer and my friends- MJ and Ned- then demanded to meet him. And now we're here." He shifted his eyes around the room trying to look anywhere except his mentor in front of him.

"And where exactly are you?" Tony's eyes seemed more concerned than anything and Peter realized he may have shown his hand too soon.  
_Does he really not know Wade is Deadpool?_

Unfortunately, Tony was able to connect the dots, cutting Peter off before he was able to get another word out, "You mean to tell me that you are dating Deadpool? The mercenary? And you... you young man, decided to bring him here. You brought him to an Avenger's wedding!?" His vocal cords rose as he spoke, ending his tirade with a hiss.

"I'm sorry Mr.Stark, I panicked." Peter still didn't want to admit he was lying, but he also couldn't just outright lie to the man- the billionaire would see through it.

"I'm sure you did kid. But you know what? I'm proud of you." Tony rose from the bed and walked to the window, looking at Peter's reflection in the glass as he stared wide-eyed at the man.

"You're proud... of me?... what-why?" Peter was utterly confused. _What is Tony proud of me for? That I know this was a terrible decision._

"You went with your heart with absolutely no qualms about what the rest of us would think. The whole secret thing- not how I would've handled it, but I respect it. Plus, when Steve finds out I just wanna see his face."

At this Peter jumped off the bed, landing right behind Tony, causing the adult to turn and face the boy. "No, Mr.Stark, please don't tell anyone. Wade has been trying to be better, even referring to himself as a vigilante and he's promised me he will try his best to stop 'unaliving' people. I don't want everyone to judge him before they get to know him based on an old image of him. Please... please, promise me you'll keep this secret until after this weekend, just 2 more days. I'm begging you Mr.Stark."

"That was cute, kid." He took a deep breath and returned his gaze to the window, "Alright, you have two days- I promise to withhold judgment until this weekend is over, but if I feel that he's a bad influence on you I will make him leave the country and never return, do you understand?"

"Of course, Mr.Stark. Thank you. You won't regret this." Peter stayed rooted to the spot, tapping his jeans as he stood, clearly deliberating to the point that Tony felt uncomfortable.

"You wanna let me into your head there buddy? I may be the 3rd or 4th most brilliant person here, but I can't read minds."

"Oh, It's just.... do you really think Wades loves me?" His eyes seemed to shake, torn between scanning Tony's face and looking at his palms. "I just- I don't know, I guess I don't see the things you said."

"Peter, you got an infamous killing machine to stop killing- based on that alone I'd say you have him wrapped around your finger. But the way he looks at you is more than enough proof, if I didn't know any better I'd say he looks at you like an assassin who just found his prey."

"Oh..." Peter's voice was small. "That kinda sounds like how you look at Dr.Strange. You seem really happy when he's around, or so I’ve heard."

"You know what kid? I think that man makes me just as happy as you do."

"Really Mr.Stark?"

"I know, right? A high bar. but I thin-"

"No, I mean, well, thank you sir, but I meant- I make you happy?"

"Peter, are we really gonna have this conversation now?" Peter's face said they were.  
\----------

Stephen Strange left the room and almost portaled back to NYC for a bit. _What was I thinking? You're just here as arm candy... Your friendship is the only reason you guys are making this work. How could you think this man actually wanted you here as a date?_

He was so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't realize he had walked the few feet down the hall and was currently standing in front of Bucky and Sam's door. It wasn't until he was face to face with Sam that he recognized where he was. Looking the man in the eye, Sam smirked at whatever he saw on Stephen's face before beckoning him inside. "Wanna come in?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks" Stephen walked in and immediately saw Bucky lying on the bed, quickly becoming uncomfortable at the idea he was intruding being shoved in his face. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"No problem, man."

"Yeah, it'll be nice getting to know you without the genius hovering." Bucky kept his face soft and open, showing Stephen he meant well, even if his words could easily be twisted.

He decided to stay cautious. "So, how are you guys enjoying the farm?"

"It's been nice, I know Bucky's a little sad they don't have goats, but he'll survive until-"  
"Hey! I know you miss Redwing." Sam scoffed at Bucky hitting him with a pillow as they both settled on the bed. Bucky sat up and moved away from his place on the bed, now leaning his head on Sam's stomach, taking in the way Stephen remained standing in front of them, "You wanna sit down Strange? You must have knocked for a reason. Let's talk."

"I knocked?..." Stephen took a moment to see he was still wearing his cloak, grimacing as he connected the dots. "Oh, sorry. My cloak must have- nevermind. So, um. Well, the kid barged into our room looking stressed, so I'm giving them some space."

"And you just so happened to find yourself at our door?" Sam's demeanor hadn't changed all night, but it was subtly becoming more questioning as Stephen remained standing, "Sit down, Strange. Let's talk."

Stephen sat tensely on the bench at the foot of the bed. "Okay. Let's talk." He glanced up at the two, obviously comfortable in their room, and he again went silent. He waited, staring at the floor until he glanced up at the men, who were both staring back at him. "What?"

"Talk." Bucky barked the words out, but Sam merely held up his hand to calm the ex-assassin.

"What's bothering you? From what I've seen you don't get rattled too easily." His calm manner soothed Stephen, enough that he was able to take a centering breath.

"It's just being here. I've seen Tony tense, but this is a whole other level. I don't know exactly what happened the last time he was here, but he's not over it and it's really affecting him." Stephen didn't want to air all of Tony's dirty laundry, but he was glad to get something off his chest.

The two men glanced at each other before Sam slapped his hand over Bucky's face just as he began speaking," Well that-"

"What he was going to say is that Stark's tenseness may not just be due to him being here. This is the first time the original 6 have been together since the Accords business. Steve and Clint quitting was probably hard on them all and being back here just reminds him of the team he lost." 

"No. It's- I mean, yeah, that makes sense- I just think that there's something else that was going on." Stephen was surprised at himself for being so comfortable talking, but he was relieved that neither of them seemed to judge him. 

"There might be. But you can ask Tony about that. We weren't here back then and neither of us knows the entire story." Sam waited for a beat after his words, then gently and slowly removed his hand from Bucky's mouth.

"How long have you known Tony? I've never seen him sit on anyone and he looked pretty relaxed from what I could tell." He glanced up at the man behind him, checking to make sure he didn't have to expect another hand to his face for his question.

Stephen coughed, obviously fake, but it gave him a second to decide on his backstory- or to just to force himself to tell the truth. "I met him back in 2004, we were both young geniuses in our fields and we hit it off right away. Basically attached at the hip for a few years until he moved to Cali. Lost touch almost completely once he got kidnapped and later I had a car accident, met up again around 2011, and then we truly got back to our old ways about a year ago." 

"That's a long time... I know you guys may have lost contact around that time, but I'm sure he'd open up to you if it's really bothering him."

"Maybe, but he's just so sure he can take care of himself- he's been forced to go through life alone and he takes so much of what happens to the world personally. Everything is on his shoulders and there's not much you can really do to help him shed that burden- I've tried. Even when we first met and he didn't hold everything in- he was still carrying his parents' murder and so much other stuff." At the sharp intake of breath he heard from the two men in the room, he looked up and saw pained expressions on both of them. "What's wrong?" He was so shaken at their sudden stillness he barely registered that the Cloak had lifted off his shoulders and moved over to Bucky, finally noticing when it laid itself across the man's lower body.

"Oh, nothing. Let's just go outside and take a walk. I think it'll be good for all of us." Sam made a pointed expression at both Bucky and Stephen in succession, but neither moved and were both staring at the cloak. "What?"

"What are you?" Bucky asked, turning to Stephen. Sam still looked confused, but he quickly noticed the red fabric currently on the taller man's legs.

"I'm a Master of the Mystic Arts. I went to Nepal after the accident kept me from the full usage of my hands, where I met a woman who introduced me to the mystic realm and helped me gain mastery of it. Since then I've worked in New York to keep the World safe from mystic threats." At the blank stares on the faces looking back at him he summoned a few symbols to prove his statements. The orange glow on their surprised expressions made him happy, but he was still uncomfortable from their earlier stillness. "I can tell you more later, but I believe Mr.Wilson wanted to go on a walk."

"Yeah, uh- Maybe just you and I could go. We can leave Bucky and your- your cloak here. That okay Buck?" 

"Yeah, no problem Sammy. You guys have fun. I'll just be here." Bucky leaned forward to let Sam out before grabbing his hand. Whatever look passed over his face, it was clear Sam understood and nodded before leading the way out of the room. 

They had just closed the door and Stephen was about to ask what had just happened when a loud crash was heard, stopping them in their tracks.

\---------  
The moment Peter left Wade knew something was wrong. Or maybe that was just his feelings finally bubbling to the surface. Either way, he knew he needed to talk with the boy, but before he even got the chance Peter was off, telling Wade he had to discuss something with Mr.Stark and he'd be back later. 

Which is how Wade found himself in the bathroom on the second floor of the barn, freaking out. Thought spiraled around his head, the last 10 months had been a whirlwind. It was deceptively easy to fall for the shy hero, but when he heard him lament about the girl he had a crush on he put that thought aside. And then when he learned the boy was still in high school he shoved those feelings into a bag, the moment he learned Peter was actually 17 he dropped the bag off a cliff- or at least he tried to. But they've followed him. Ned's words followed him, May's words cornered him, the way everyone had been acting opened the bag and dumped it on his head. 

_Now he was here, in a barn filled with Avengers in the middle of nowhere with his best friend who everyone is acting like is his boyfriend. What was he supposed to be doing? Should he be more loving? Does Peter even realize that's how they're being treated? What does Peter think is going on? He is so much denser than most people expect, even as both a genius and spiderman the boy misses a whole lot. Or does he think Wade and him are...?_ Wade cuts his brain off; he can't even begin to think about that because if it's not true the thought would destroy him and he wasn’t sure if his healing factor would be able to save him. He was laying down in the large bathtub, staring at the tiles and ignoring the rest of the room.

But his thoughts continued to spiral, going from _maybe Peter just brought you here so the Avengers could destroy you without witnesses?_ , causing Wade to smirk, to _What if the Avengers find out who you are?_ causing Wade to sink down in the empty tub. Finally, his brain had a thought that forced him to sit up straight _What if Peter brought you here as a date?_ As his spine snapped straight he accidentally slammed his head into the faucet of the tub, gauging a nice divot in his skull. He started to blackout for a minute before his brain healed enough to keep him upright. The entire house was superhero-proof, meaning that faucet would need hulk strength to budge, which was bad news for his skull but his healing factor just needed a few minutes to finish healing and then he could wash up the blood.

Unfortunately, that realization was crashed in on by Captain America who stopped short when he noticed the bathroom wasn't empty. A few seconds too late Wade realized his head was probably covered in blood, but the old Avenger was staring at the faucet of the tub, where Wade could now see a small chunk of his flesh was caught. "I can explain!" The captain's face prompted him to keep speaking. "I have a really strong healing factor and umm... I can't really die so I've kinda stopped being as aware of my surroundings. I get injured a whole lot more but get fixed up in a jiffy. I'll just clean this up and be out of your hair." Wade rambled a bit more as he searched under the sink for a good cleaner to use on the bloody sink. 

"Wait. Wade, right?" Wade hummed noncommittally, remembering the look he had given him out the window when they first arrived now that his brain was back in functioning order. He looked concerned at the group overall, before glancing at Wade like something didn't make sense. He turned to Natasha slightly as they approached, but Wade stopped looking at them when Peter grabbed his hand and began forging ahead- he missed the fact that directly behind him in their line of sight Stephen and Tony had been trying to act normal. "You're Peter's date, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Wade glanced at the man, wondering where he was going with this and scared of what would exit his mouth next.

"Nothing, just wondering how long you've known each other. You seem very.... close." The captain was obviously picking his words carefully, which made Wade even more nervous.

"Umm... Well, I met him almost a year ago. He's my best friend." He added inflection to the word _friend_ in the hopes that that would end whatever conversation the old war hero had started. 

"That's good. I'm assuming you guys spend a lot of time together and stuff. Ever hang out at Stark tower or anything?" 

"No, actually- you'd be surprised by the places Petey and I hang out."

"What kinds of places would those be?"

"Rooftops and restaurants," Wade felt bad, like he shouldn't be sharing this knowledge with anyone, but he also didn't want to lie to a guy who was willing to give up his entire life based on a few sheets of paper and some oversight.

"Oh. How do you know Tony then? You guys flew here together- he only flies his friends." There was a bitter tinge to his words, reminding Wade that the mam probably still lived in Brooklyn.

"I met him on the plane. But Peter won't shut up about him most nights so I've learned a lot about him. Seems cool though, definitely more hip than you." Wade kept his face neutral, trying to gauge how far he's pushed this man in the few minutes they've been talking. It was either a lot or not at all. He bet the former but hoped for the latter. 

"Okay son, listen. I only asked you because I wanted to make sure you were here because you wanted to be and that you weren't forced against your will."

"Forced? That's hilarious, I can't wait to tell Peter. You think he forced me to come here? Why would he do that? How do _you_ even think he could?" Wade sobered for a second in the realization of what the Captain was implying, "Oh. _You_ think Tony Stark forced me here? That's somehow even better. Please illuminate me."

"You're a kid with powers. Tony collects kids like that. Just wondering if you were one of them, that's all." Steve took a step back as Wade shoved a paper towel filled with his flesh into the trash can. 

"I don't know if you've noticed but that isn't really true at all. Tony Stark helps kids with powers stay safe, if they want to be a hero he'll help them, but he doesn't coerce or _force_ anyone to do anything." Wade glanced over Steve's shoulder and saw Peter walking into their room wiping at his face, "and one more thing. I'm not a kid- I'm 21." With that, Wade pushed past him and followed Peter's path to their room.

He pushed open the door carefully and slowly, in case Peter was in sensory overload, but he was just sitting on the bed, wrapped up in Wade's sweatshirt, tears beginning to dry and sniffles coming every so often. 

"Baby Boy? Can I come in?" Wade asked, wavering in the doorway, hyper-aware of Captain America standing in the open doorway of the bathroom down the hall. He saw Peter nod and he quickly stepped inside and closed the door. "I'm gonna hug you, that okay?" He made his way to the bed slowly, keeping his eyes trained on Peter. He waited at the edge of the bed until Peter glanced at him and nodded. With that, Wade scooped Peter up in his arms and laid down with his back on the pillows. 

They sat like that for a while, but after a few minutes Peter stopped crying and Wade rubbed the still wet trails off his face. It wasn't until Peter's breathing matched Wade's that he asked the question that was burning in his mind. "What were you talking to Steve Rogers about?" The boy tried to sit up once his eyes saw the blood on his face, “Did he hurt you? Wade, what happened?”

"I fell-hit something, actually- the thing...spout on the tub… just your typical Deadpool clumsiness. And as for Rogers-umm, it was nothing- he's just concerned that Tony Stark is trying to make me into a hero.... If only he knew that was your doing." Wade smirked as he spoke, but it was gentle. He saw Peter begin to formulate another question and knew he needed to bring them to the more important topic. "But enough about that for now. Why were you crying, Petey?"

"Oh, We're gonna talk about that later then... and uh. Tony told me that I make him happy and my brain couldn't handle it... I guess?" Peter rubbed at his nose as his voice rose into a question, glancing at Wade out the corner of his eyes as he spoke. He caught Wade's disbelieving expression. 

"Peter Parker, you know damn well that Tony Stark cares about you. Even though I believe you that you cried about that, these tears were about something different. You were,... you were upset or mad or..." _scared_ neither one of them was willing to say it, but they felt it go through their minds. 

"I just realized something... It's no big deal or anything. I just wasn't prepared to say it out loud and then.. but it doesn't matter because guess what happened? Tony Stark knows you're Deadpool." Wade tried to get up, even though by this point Peter had turned and was currently straddling his lap, arms pressing his shoulders back into the pillows. "Don't get up just yet. He promised not to tell anyone and to withhold judgment until this weekend is over."

"And at the end of this weekend?" 

"If he decides you're a bad influence on me he threatened to have you deported."

"Oh."

"Yeah... but he's gonna love you so don't even worry about it."

"Okay." Wade looked around the room for a minute before his eyes settled on Peter's. "I guess I really have to be on my best behavior now, don't I?"

"Yes, yes you do."

"Great!" Wade rolled his eyes. It was in that moment he realized Peter was still attempting to press him into the bed. "You think you could lay off the chest press? If you keep that up I might think you want me to stay under you for an entirely different reason than talking." 

He smirked, expecting Peter to blush and back off awkwardly, but Peter just stared into his eyes. "And what reason would that be?" He did let up the pressure a bit, but his spider strength still made it a force that Wade would have to work to fight against. 

“Ohh… Baby Boy, are you being naughty? Do you really want to know what happens when a spider is bad?” Wade leaned into the pillows, seeming to allow Peter control, but suddenly he rolled over, trying to get the boy under him. Obviously, a twin bed was not the best place to do that. 

The thud that occurred from Peter hitting the floor with Wade on top of him was loud and jarring to both boys. Peter closed his eyes against the pounding in his head- which quickly subsided due to his healing factor and the fact that he didn’t hit his head that hard. If anything his hips hurt the most, with most of Wade’s body mass landing on top of them. 

“Petey, are you okay?” Wade’s hands caressed his head, the rest of his body still laying on the boy. 

A knock at the door made both boys freeze. Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Stephen Strange peeked into the room, Sam and Strange were about to go on their walk, while Steve was returning to his room when they were startled by a loud bang from the kids’ room. They all made eye contact with each other before cautiously approaching the door. Rogers knocked, but Wilson opened the door. 

It took Sam less than a second to spot the boys, Peter’s feet were peeking out from between the beds in the room. The other two didn’t notice and therefore couldn’t find them. 

“Everything okay in here?” Stephen called out, only recognizing where the kids were when Wade sat up and turned to the adults a smile on his face. 

“Oh yeah, everything’s perfect here. We just had a mishap with rolling off the bed. Twin beds are smaller than you think, y’know?” He smirked at the men, glancing back down at Peter who had quickly grown red- mainly in mortification at their position. 

“I’m okay Dr.Strange, just winded and probably a bit bruised. I’ll probably be able to sit tomorrow.” Peter spoke without thinking, just trying to get the doctor out of the room, but his mind was still racing and his thoughts came out unfiltered.

Wades snickered and leaned down to the boy beneath him, “Good sell.” He then returned his head back to the men’s line of sight. “Well, you’ve heard the boy, we’re good here. I’ll do my best to ensure he is able to participate in everything that’s required of him tomorrow. Goodnight y’all.”

They all looked like they wanted to say something, but Rogers quickly closed his dropped jaw and pulled the other two men out of the room before slamming the door shut.

“Good. They’re gone.” Wade turned back to the teen, noting how he winced as Wade shifted. “Where were we?” He whispered, as if speaking to himself- then he hurtled into action.

Wade helped Peter back onto the bed, slowly checking him over for serious bruises or scrapes until Peter pushed him off, “I’m fine Wade. Please lay off.” 

“Fine. Just promise me you’re not gonna die on me, webs.” Wade leaned back and rolled himself over onto his side trapped between Peter and the wall. His eyes stared holes into Peter’s face. 

When Peter glanced at Wade’s expectant face, he could tell he was serious, “I promise you I won’t die. Okay?” He maintained eye contact with the older boy, which was the only reason he saw Wade’s eyes almost well up- but he quickly brought Peter into a hug. “Everything’s okay. Wade?”

Peter waited until he reestablished eye contact to try talking to him again, “Wade? Why are you freaking out? You’ve seen me go through worse than falling off a bed. You’ve never freaked out about it this much before. Well, actually you did once but that was before you knew I was spiderman so-”

“I know. It’s stupid.”

“Wade? You’re worrying me here, but I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I said it’s stupid, alright? Just ignore it.” Wade’s eyes hardened and his fists clenched the covers. Peter tensed slightly and Wade immediately shrunk back against the wall. 

“Wade?” Peter stuck his arm out and patted his best friend’s shoulder, which he tried to shrug off, but Peter wasn’t moving.”Wade. Look at me. What’s wrong?”

They laid in silence for several minutes, Peter’s enhanced hearing heard Sam and Stephen reenter the building, 

“Should we check on the boys?” Stephen sounded slightly concerned, but Sam just chuckled.

“No. Honestly I’m not sure either of us would like to see what they’re up to now that they’re probably back on a bed.” They kept walking, going into Sam’s room where they began whispering. 

“Wade had some blood on his head though.” Peter was about to try to continue listening when Wade shifted beside him.

“I- Earlier when I was in the bathroom when I accidentally took a chunk out of my skull. Before-” He put his palm up to stop Peter from beginning to check him over this time, “ Before that I was in there freaking out about everything that’s been going on the last few days.”

Wade almost lowered his palm, but brought it back up when Peter looked about ready to respond, “I’m not done yet. I know you told me your Aunt just assumed we were dating and you didn’t have the heart to tell her yet or whatever, but she’s not the only one to act as though we’re dating. I’m just confused- why did you bring me here? I thought you just wanted a friend, but MJ and Ned are here. Ned made it pretty clear to me that your aunt invited him because you didn’t. But you invited me.”

He took a deep breath and Peter waited a moment to see if he would keep speaking, but when Wade just turned his attention from Peter’s neck to his eyes, he finally felt the urge to speak. “Well, I umm… when I responded to the invite I had planned to take my Aunt- I was convinced she wouldn’t let me go without her supervision. When I talked with her about it she seemed so excited and it was all good. But then I found out she got her own invitation AND that she invited Ned. I already said I was bringing a plus one and you were the closest person to me who wasn’t already going and I wanted you here with me-

“I didn’t want to be seen as the stupid kid who didn’t know how to respond to an invitation and then Mr.Stark was asking me who I was bringing with me and I panicked and you were right there so I just asked you. I realize I never explained any of this to you and you were probably blind-sighted by all the attention you got from my friends and family and now you’re here with us and a group of people who can’t find out your secret identity and the fact that they all think we’re already dating is just adding more on top of that and I-” 

Peter paused and rolled onto his side, facing Wade from the other side of the small bed, “I just didn’t want to discuss it earlier and make you run off. Especially once we got here. I understand if you never want to talk to me again and if you want to go home I can ask Dr.Strange to send you back to Brooklyn. We can just come up with an excuse for you so no one asks questions- honestly I’m surprised we didn’t get that many questions tonight. But it’s no worries whatever you want. What Wade? I could feel you tapping me but I don’t think I can really stop rambling right now so you’re either gonna have to shut me up or let me-”

Wade put his hand over Peter’s mouth and leaned across the bed. “I’m gonna make you shut up. Now if this doesn’t stop you I have no other things to try. Can you listen to me for a second?” Peter quickly nodded, hoping his words hadn’t ruined everything. “I’m not running. You said you wanted me here and that is more than enough of a reason for me to stay. I don’t believe you would bring me here for anything that is wrong or bad- you’re too pure for that. I just- and also, I jus- you can’t say things like that.”

“Like what?” Peter was now holding Wade’s hand in both of his own, but he wasn't rambling this time.

“You said they think we’re already dating… which leads my broken and hopelessly romantic brain into thinking there is a possible future where we are dating and since I know that isn’t going to happen it just hurts and confuses me even more than everyone I don’t know here thinking we’re together.”

“Why isn't it going to happen?.” 

"Oh Petey, you'd have to be crazy to want anything more than partnership with me."

"Excuse me! I don't think I'm really that crazy, and we're already friends. Why would it be crazy that I love you?" As soon as he said those words Peter brought his hands- with Wade’s still attached- to his mouth. 

Wade froze. If he didn’t do this often while out on patrol Peter never would have been able to remain calm. He was just processing surprising information- he did the same thing when Peter showed him his face for the first time. 

Peter had just counted to 67 when Wade finally snapped out of his stupor, “You can’t.”

"Why not?" Peter's eyes showed the hurt just slightly breaking through, and Wade rushed to respond.

"Because why would you? You are perfect and there's no way you could like any part of this."

“Well, I guess I'm crazy then,” Peter smirked from behind their hands as Wade’s jaw dropped.

“Baby Boy? You mean that?” Peter nodded and Wade shifted his hand from his mouth to the side of his face, “ I love you too.” 

They leaned in towards each other, eyes stuck on each others’ mouths. They probably would have kissed if Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson hadn’t chosen that exact moment to knock at the door.

“What?” Peter huffed, rolling onto his back annoyed at the second intrusion. Sam opened the door for the second time that evening and the two men walked a few steps into the room, 

“Lights out. Plus we just wanted to make sure you guys are staying safe- heard you fell off the bed earlier.” Bucky smirked at the red faces of the boys, unaware that they weren’t blushing from anything he was saying. “You guys okay?”

“Yeah. We’re good guys. Thanks again. Good night!” Peter said, watching as Sam turned their lights off and left the room in silence and darkness. 

Before he could even roll back to facing Wade, the bald boy grabbed him and pulled him into his body. “If we love each other, I now pronounce you - _the little spoon_. Sleep is upon us.”

Peter laughed at his antics. “Well, we do have a big day tomorrow.”


	12. Author needs a title

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls have a little chat and begin planning something  
> Clint and Laura discuss his inability to grow up  
> Steve and some others figure out some stuff?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter feels a bit off to me- I don't know if I like it, but I build off it in the rest of the story so... it's here for now.
> 
> (Also, my first year of college just finished yesterday!!! I hope to keep working on and finish this soon.)

"So... spill." Lila jumped onto her bed, across the room from where MJ and Shuri were sitting on the air mattress Laura had so generously offered them once she learned they'd been invited to her daughter's room. 

Wanda had just left to grab her brother and go to sleep, but these three weren't ready for sleep yet. 

"Spill what?" 

"Don't play with me MJ, spill it."

"No, I mean spill what? There's a lot I could spill- I want to know what you're talking about." 

"Ohh... Well, I didn't really think I'd get this far, but I guess I was talking about either how you guys got together or what's up with Peter." Lila sat up a bit straighter on her bed, trying and failing to look confident. 

"As much as I'd love to tell you all about how I romanced the princess right here, I think embarrassing Peter is more the vibe of tonight." MJ laughed as Shuri scoffed and attempted to push her off the bed.

"Okay, well the first thing you should know is that Peter is an-"

"Cooper told me he's Spiderman." Lila cut off the princess. 

"I was going to say an idiot, but that's a decent thing to know as well." Shuri looked at her girlfriend who took over the conversation from there.

"Wade's his best friend, they met while he was out saving people over a year ago and kept running into each other and eventually Peter revealed his identity to him. I only met him a week ago, but Ned and I had been hearing about him from Peter since they first met. Peter was whipped and it was hilarious. Especially when he decided to bring Wade- his best friend- to a wedding.   
"Wade, the poor thing, had no idea why Pete invited him and I'm sure Ned didn't help with that. He thinks they've been dating since this summer. I knew Peter would have told us if he was dating anyone, but he's also just dense enough to not realize he was dating someone. When we first met I could just tell, Peter really was in love."

"Wait, was? What is happening now then?"

"Umm... well I might have tried to help Peter not be stupid and instead freaked him out into kind of confronting his emotions. See, I was right about him being dense, but I thought that if I made him realize they were in love it'd push their relationship further. But Peter is still internally freaking out and Wade is confused as fuck. People keep considering them a couple and Wade probably doesn't know what to do with that since Peter won't really acknowledge it."

"So you know what we need to do?" Shuri's voice cut into the tense air of the room, and both girls looked at her and grinned when they saw the spark in her eye, "We're getting them together tomorrow if its the last thing we do."

\-------------------------------

"So Honey, what are your thoughts on your friends now?"

"I don't regret not signing if that's what you're trying to say. We can still hang out and because of the accords we can actually plan for the future and things might work out." Clint finished folding his clothes and sat down in one of the chairs in his room. 

"Oh, I just thought you might have some thought on their new relationships or anything. After all, a lot has changed since I last really saw them or got to talk with them. Like Thor and Banner, how long has that been going on?"

"Thor and Bruce? They returned to Earth together just after the accords business. Something about Thor finding him on a trash planet- I didn't really pay much attention."

"Oh, sweetie. Not again. We discussed this last time. You are older, right?"

"What are you talking about Laur? Wait, you think they're-Laura, I love you but you' don't know them as much as you think you do."

"Clint, how many couples do you think are here right now?"

"Uhh, well there's us. Stark and his Doctor. The princess and Scary girl. Parker and his friend, maybe? I can't tell on that one." Clint counted on his fingers, holding up a tentative fourth towards his wife as she laughed.

"That was adorable. You actually got more than half so I am proud of you."

Clint just chuckled nervously, "I'm gonna go check on the twins downstairs, I'll be back soon."

"I won't wait up. Love you," Laura was almost asleep by the time Clint got downstairs.

He looked in on the twins who were sleeping on the two couches, soft snores coming from one of them in the dark room. 

He was about to walk back upstairs when he saw a small group congregated on the porch.

\-----------------------------

After checking in on Peter and Wade, Steve decided to follow Sam and Stephen outside, though once they made it out the door he let them walk off into the darkness. Steve was so preoccupied he didn't notice who was on the porch until he was already standing on it.

Natasha, Coulson, and T'Challa were all standing in a small clump under one of the two lights, whispering until Natasha noticed Steve.

"Hey, wanna join us? We're just discussing everything this weekend and some of our observations from tonight."

"Uhh... yeah, what are you guys talking about now."

"Did something just happen to you? You look a little pale. " Natasha placed an arm on his shoulder, all three of them looking a bit concerned.

"Oh, I walked in on Wade- Peter's friend- in the bathroom with a gash in his head. He fell or something and took out a chunk of his skull. He wasn't even phased that a piece of his brain was visible, just said that his healing factor was strong enough that he stopped paying attention to his own body."

There was a strong moment of silence.

Everyone glanced between each other until Coulson finally spoke, "Uhh, do you know Wade's last name by any chance?"

"I don't know, I didn't even know Peter was bringing anyone." Steve shrugged his shoulder, taking half a step out of the circle, seeing Clint through the window.

"I don't know either, Clint- do you know Wade's last name?" Nat turned to the archer, causing the circle to open up once more to bring Clint in.

"Nope. Stark only gave me his first name. Why?"

"He has a healing factor- so I was wondering where Peter met him."

"Well, he hasn't been to Stark tower according to him, so I don't think Stark knows him. Also, wanted to make sure I know that Stark doesn't coerce kids with powers."

"What did you say to him to make him say that?" T'Challa had been silent most of the conversation, but he spoke quickly and stared Steve down until he replied.

"I just asked him how he knew Tony- they flew in on his jet so I just wanted to know how they got that invite."

"What about Peter?"

"What about Peter?" Steve glanced at Coulson, confused.

"Peter's one of the Stark Interns. He's been one just over a year I think. " Natasha explained.

"Oh, I thought he was just Cooper's friend."

"Well, that's why we invited him. But they met when Cooper visited the tower to help me pack up my stuff after the Accords. He had just started his internship then I think." 

"As much as I've enjoyed this conversation, I am going to go to sleep now, Thank you for your hospitality, Clint. I will see you all tomorrow." The group waved him goodnight as the King went inside. Once he was on the stairs a collective breath was released from the remaining four. 

"Was that all Steve, nothing else caused that look on your face?" 

"Yeah, there was something else, Nat." Steve took a breath, " After I spoke to Wade I finished getting ready for bed. Then as I was walking back to my room I heard a crash of their room. Sam and Tony's doctor were also in the hallway so we knocked and checked in on them. Wade told us that they rolled off the bed and he landed on Peter, but they both shooed us out quickly.umm... and they promised Peter would still be able to walk tomorrow." His face was red when he finished speaking, but Clint burst into laughter before he even finished. 

"Of course you would walk in on that! Ah, I love it." Clint was still laughing, but Coulson shushed him with a glare. 

"Of course displays of affection make you uncomfortable," The Russian spy smirked.

"You know what, Romanoff?"

"Oh yeah, moving onward. Laura told me I only know half the couples that are here right now. You know something I don't?"

"Uh. Stark and his Doctor, the princess and MJ, Peter and Wade. So the four couples, right?"

"You boys are so cute..."

"You forgot two." Coulson and Natasha spoke over each other, but Coulson won the right to keep speaking, "Bruce and Thor and then Sam and Bucky. But then you also have the two couples that only have one counterpart here."

"Sam and... I gotta go to sleep. This has been a lot." All four of them broke apart at that, Steve not even pausing to say goodnight as he turned around and almost ran back into his room. 

Clint commented as he retreated, "I think we broke the captain."

Natasha merely smirked as she and her best friend walked up the stairs, "I'm not sure about Bucky and Sam honestly, they're very dense."

"Well, I'm sure Steve'll figure it out and let us know tomorrow." They reached the top of the stairs and parted ways, "Night Tash." She merely nodded at the man before closing the door to her room.


	13. Plans Need Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning of the wedding and some tensions are high.  
> MJ and co, begin their plan, but some things don't always go according to plan.

The first wave of early birds began at 6:00. Steve, Sam, Coulson, and Rhodes all convened in the kitchen, watching the coffee pot do its magic. Little conversation occurred between the four men, either too tired or just not wanting to speak to the others. Others joined in small waves, but it wasn't until almost two hours later when MJ, Lila, Cooper, and Wade entered the kitchen that some conversations finally started up. 

Wade, Rhodes, Bucky, Sam, and Coulson were discussing a new type of weapon that was set to be released next week- a sure flop given that it was HammerTech. Rhodes and Sam lamented the lack of consistency in the new arms from Hammer Tech, the CEO trying so hard to create flashy technology rather than effective weaponry. 

Peter, Tony, Ned, and Bruce were discussing a bunch of random theories- including some random ideas they all had about space and aliens. They weren't awake enough to get into the actual science and theory surrounding their ideas, but it was tense.

Pepper, May, Natasha, and Steve were all standing in a square, but May and Pepper were discussing the architecture of the farmhouse, while Steve was catching Natasha up on what he's been getting up to in the last 2 years. 

Shuri, MJ, Cooper, and Lila were discussing how to start their plan. Step 1 was for the children to all have breakfast together. Cooper was confused by the planning session, but he did his best to stay in it. 

Once Laura came down and she and Natasha began cooking the smells of bacon and eggs woke up the others left in the house. It wasn't long until even those from the barn- Thor, Stephen, and Happy, had joined the room. 

Once the two women finished the first batch, the kids grabbed the two trays and made their way to the living room, claiming it as their own. 

MJ, Shuri, Lila, and Wanda sat across from Peter, Ned, Pietro, Cooper, and Wade. seating in that order across the two couches. Although the kids ate quickly, they waited until the adults had been served their food and moved out to the porch before they started talking.

"Alright guys, we're gonna play a game." MJ made the announcement, her eyes daring anyone to deny her. 

"What game?" Cooper seemed interested, but he was also aware of the clock, " We only have an hour until we should go get ready." 

"Don't worry we're just gonna go around in a circle a few times and we can stop whenever." MJ smirked at the group, taking a deliberate breath before continuing, "We're gonna play most likely to, staring with Shuri here we're gonna go around proposing a category and everyone points to the person it fits most."

Everyone nodded so Shuri immediately began with, "Most Likely to live forever."

"Hey! That's not fair." Peter remained staring at the floor, despite the looks everyone else gave him- everyone else, besides Wade.

"Wanna elaborate Pete?"

Peter looked up and his eyes widened as he realized what he just said, "Umm... I- I just meant that... uh, um." His voice petered out into silence as he realized he couldn't explain without sharing a secret that wasn't his to share.

"We have a running joke that Peter's face hasn't aged in over 10 years, so he's kind of immoral in that way." Peter had never been happier to have Ned as his best friend than he was in that moment. 

"Okay... well, I'm just gonna do a new one to avoid the awkwardness that just happened," Shuri turned to her girlfriend and shrugged before looking back at the group, "Umm.. Most likely to drop out of school."

Fingers pointed in a wide variety of directions, the twins pointed at each other, while the Bartons followed suit, all four smirking. The other fingers were pointed almost evenly at Peter and MJ, but Peter won, Shuri, MJ, and Wade pointing at him. 

"Really guys? Have I-"

"You complain every single day and you missed almost every single day of school for like 2 months at one point." MJ stared him down until he raised his hands in surrender, "Good. now I'll go. How about.... most likely to get married first."

"Guys, really!?" Peter was on the receiving end of 5 fingers, his best friends, Shuri, Wanda, and Lila smiling down at him. The other boys on the couch weakly pointed randomly across the table.

"Yes. Now I vote myself next," Lila raised her hand as everyone else let their hands drop- some with sighs of relief- "Most likely to jump out a window because of an ex."

"Okay, this is just unfair, really. It's like you guys have curated these against me." Peter didn't even look at the 6 hands pointing at him, Pietro and Wanda pointing at each other yet again. 

"I feel like there's something about this game we're too old to understand," Pietro gestured between himself and his sister, who both looked a little uneasy.

"I kinda feel that way too, how old are you guys anyway?" Wade leaned back on the couch, taking in both twins as he asked. 

"We're 20. Though sometimes it feels like we've been alive for centuries." Wanda glanced at the ceiling as she finished speaking, sadness and regret in her eyes that no one wanted to comment on. 

"Oh. Well, I could go next..." Everyone turned to Ned as he nervously glanced around, eventually focusing on the coffee table, " Most likely to be able to survive on a desert island." 

Shuri and MJ pointed at each other, with Ned and Peter joining them as well. the others mainly pointed at Lila, but Wade pointed at Ned, who seemed slightly stunned.

The group kept going in that manner until MJ got her turn again. Peter saw the look in her eyes and stood, "We should get going. We do have a wedding to prepare for."

"Fine. Just let me go and we can all get ready." She glanced around and raised her eyebrow until Peter sat back down, "Thank you. Let's finish this off with the most likely to... fall in love with their best friend." Every single hand pointed at Peter, leading him to blush and escape the room. 

The room turned to Wade at that moment, who's hands hadn't been pointing anywhere as he began to blush at the attention. "He might have a slight concussion... and I'm gonna go."

The room was silent, almost awkwardly so until all of them stood up simultaneously and rushed out of there to get ready. The only sound, MJ's question, stated what they were all thinking, "What just happened?"


	14. Peter needs a Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding!  
> People are sitting and talking, and as always misunderstanding threaten the delicate friendships already in play.

The ceremony was gorgeous. Natasha and Laura had done an amazing job. The entire backyard was covered in the perfect balance of greenery and yellow and white flowers. There was an arch that was just tall enough to fit Clint but also to have the flowers perfectly frame Laura. Coulson and Natasha were the ring bearers; Lila and Cooper were the best man and maid of honor for obvious reasons. Everyone sat in the three rows and as soon as they kissed everyone threw rice at them while they remained at the 'altar' instead of running out. For various reasons, everyone was ready for the reception to begin. 

The reception took place both inside the house and under a tent they had set up in the field beside their property. The large white tent has a wooden stage set up for dancing, 4 round tables set up in a U around said dance floor alongside a table for drinks and eventually cake. Food was set up inside in the kitchen and dining room. Knowing they were inviting superheroes, the couple planned and cooked enough food to feed a village. 

At first everyone sat in silence, a silent conversation at every table occurring. Rhodes was staring Tony down from across the table, daring him to do something with his eyes. MJ stared down Peter, attempting to do the same thing, but getting distracted at how Peter and Wade seemed to be avoiding each other as much as possible-despite sitting next to each other. It was making her mission harder than it should be. Steve was being stared down by Coulson, the man technically was at the fourth table, but he was invested in seeing what Steve would do with a push. 

He cleared his throat, causing all four tables to burst into conversation. “So Sam, Buck? How have you guys been?”

“Umm.. We’re good. Missing our pets, but we’ll be returning tomorrow so it’s been good.” Bucky shifted slightly to get a better view of the ex-captain seated one seat away, Sam between them.

"So you guys are still living together then?"

"Well, yeah. We moved into the compound though. Tony helped set up a pen for a couple of the goats I got close to while in Wakanda. Sam’s been helpful with everything and..." Bucky seemed hesitant to answer Steve beyond that, but Sam cut in.

"Yep. Training's been going well and Bucky has been making a lot of progress- you'd be proud." Steve was clearly about to ask something when Sam cut him off, "Also, I got an actual falcon so training her has been fun. She's pretty awesome." Sam realized something and immediately stood up and called out to the table to his left, "Tony!"

"Sammy?" The billionaire stood as well, prodding him to respond quickly- while hoping it would derail the current conversation happening below him.

"Is Redwing being fed? I don't want her to kill something else on accident."

"Pep?" The genius turned to the CEO, who merely nodded with a raised eyebrow. "Yep, she's all good."

Both men sat down after that, conversations restarting in the tent. Tony had not been lucky enough to make his table forget their current topic of conversation.

"Tony?"

"Yeah? Oh, yeah. Where were we?"

"We were at how you managed to keep this guy a secret for years- twice." Rhodey, who had of course known Tony then, was unaware of his friendship with the surgeon. He didn't want to admit it, but he was angry that his best friend had developed a relationship with somebody for years and he somehow didn't know about it. He should have paid more attention or maybe he should have been more involved- though he knew it wouldn't have changed anything. Tony would have trusted him with the same amount of information regardless of how often he called to check in and Rhodes knew it.

"Oh, is that really what the table would like to hear about?" He chuckled slightly, looking around the table to the expectant faces of his family. "Okay then...

"Well, I didn't really intend for him to be a secret- we just kind of hit it off, and yeah..."

"If it makes you guys feel any better I didn't tell anybody I had managed to befriend the one and only _Tony Stark_. I don't even think I really mentioned even knowing him until everything in 2008. Then a couple of my coworkers knew something, but I doubt they really knew much beyond the fact I bothered to learn his name." Stephen tried to make the situation better, but he could tell it didn't go over that well. He sighed as Pepper changed the topic of conversation, but Rhodey's eyes never left the pair. Stephen glanced over at the kids' table, but it didn't hold his attention for long.

"Peter?" MJ's voice cut through Peter's cloud of thoughts, making him snap his head up and look around the table, cutting back to MJ before his eyes reached the vigilante sitting beside him. "Well, now that you're with us- would you mind telling the table the story about the day you met Deadpool. _The whole day_."

"Of course MJ, anything for you." Over the course of his story, Wade seemed to drift out of whatever world he was in and began hanging onto Peter's every word, until he got to the night they had met, zoning out again.

It was the worst day Peter had had at school up to that point- he got distracted by a fly that kept bothering him and in the course of trying to kill it almost broke two desks and a lunch table, he got detention for not paying attention in his English class, Flash tripped him and as a result, Peter had a bruise on his cheek for almost an hour. When he got home he was ultra-sensitive to sound and almost punched a hole in his wall due to a horn coming through his window. The only way he could even attempt to get some of his homework done was by putting on his mask and dimming all the input through it. After eating dinner Peter threw on the remainder of his suit and went out, impatient for a fight. 

Luckily, he didn't find a fight- he found Deadpool. Or, more accurately, Deadpool found him before he could jump off a roof to find one. 

Wade's mind jumped back to that night and how it changed his life, probably for the better.

\------------  
He was just jumping around on rooftops, looking out for trouble- and tracking down a guy, but that's not important to the story (AKA, Peter didn't know). 

He noticed the red and blue hero on a rooftop sitting completely still before jumping off and walking a few steps before sitting back down. Wade watched as he did this a few times before he jumped down on to the roof to join him. 

"Spidey! Boy am I glad to have found you. nights like these are no joke, am I right?" He plopped down in front of the hero, mirroring him from a foot away, "I'm Deadpool, but I'd love it if you could just call me Wade- normally I'd show you the beauty that is my face, but you seem too good to have me scarring you for life right now."

The spider still didn't move and Wade wasn't sure, but he felt as if the hero was looking for something a million miles away. "What do you want?" He shifted his body in one smooth movement, going from looking distance and distracted to 100% focused on Wade before he even heard Spider-Man's question.

"You're talking to me! Like you're okay with me talking to you right and you're not just gonna run off the moment you decide I'm just another pretty face. I mean- I'm neither boring nor a pretty face so I think you'll see-"

"Deadpool- Wade. Do you have something to say to me? I'll listen until I have to go, crime waits for no spider."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not the saying. _BUT_ I just wanted to ask if you wanted to be friends- well, partners really. Am I moving too fast? I mean- I don't kiss and tell so if you just want to skip the dinner we can move right onto dessert. Haha! Just kidding- I mean, unless. But really, I'd just love it if we could be friends- or if you'd just let me follow you around because let's face it, with your face covered your best asset is behind you-"

"I gotta go-" the hero stood up and walked towards the edge of the roof, giving him a salute.

"What!"

"I mean, if you wanna stick around I can't stop you but there's a lady who's about to get mugged so I gotta go." And with that he took off, swinging off the rooftop and into a nearby alleyway. 

Deadpool, of course, followed, having permission to do so meant he was never going to leave Spidey's side- until forced anyway. When he made it to the alley he jumped onto the fire escape and watched the hero beat and web up the two muggers. When he finished Wade began clapping, causing the hero to glare up at him, Wade could tell even through the mask that his face had a raised eyebrow and the beginnings of a smirk. 

Without a comment, Spidey took off swinging again with Wade following on rooftops. Wade only knew he was allowed to follow because every once in awhile Spidey stopped on a rooftop until he noticed Wade before taking off again.

A few hours and webbed-up criminals later Wade noticed Spidey was now sitting on a rooftop, watching Wade as he approached. He later realized it was the same rooftop he found the spider on before. 

"You survived. And you didn't kill anyone. I'm impressed," Spider-man congratulated him once Wade was on the rooftop across from him. Wade paused, unsure if he should jump across or sit, but the red and blue hero stood from the edge and walked further onto the roof, summoning him to join with his hand.

" I did! I'm so glad you notice Spidey, I knew you probably wouldn't let me hang out with you if I unalived anyone. Also a bit giddy you knew who I am." Wade plopped down beside Spidey, touching from hip to knee. "Soo... have I won you over?"

"Umm... I don't know if you've won me over yet, but as long as you promise me not to 'unalive' anyone you can be my shadow. Meet me here tomorrow night- 9:00 and we'll go from there."

"Really Spidey!?" Wade never expected this, he was nearly shaking with excitement. "I promise I won't let you down- I will have to change my process, but I promise you Spidey won't be seeing any more Deadpool murders after tonight!" He jumped off the roof before Spidey could comment on his 'after tonight' comment.... he did kill the guy he was looking for earlier, but it was never connected to him so even now Peter doesn't know- or maybe he does- but Wade will never mention it to his now best friend.

\-----------------------

"-I probably would have just beaten up the first person I saw if- if Deadpool hadn't come over an annoyed me that night. I don't know why, but I guess having him follow me around that night reminded me that people look up to me so I had to stay in control." Wade snapped out of his memory to hear the end of Peter's comment. 

"Are you guys still friends?" Lila asked the question, causing everyone at the table, minus her brother, to turn to her stiffly. 

"Uhh... yeah? I mean- friends is- yeah I guess that works for now." Peter tripped over his words, causing MJ and Wade to raise an eyebrow at him. In response the hero shrunk into his chair, his face red.

"Ohh..." Lila drew in a breath, turning to Shuri with a serious expression before getting up from the table and walking into the house. MJ and Shuri exchanged a confused look before MJ sighed and followed her.

"You didn't tell me Peter was already in a relationship." Lila was just less than 2 years younger than MJ, but the older girl was a bit thrown by how serious she looked.

"Because he's not. I don't know what to tell you other than Peter and Deadpool are not dating."

"Really? Because he got a little too red for it to be anything else."

MJ was torn, she had assumed that Peter didn't want to reveal Wade's identity as Deadpool with all the Avengers around, but she didn't want Lila to ruin what Peter and Wade could have because of a misunderstanding. But then again, Lila wasn't going to judge Wade for being Deadpool and she was also at the very least trusted with Peter's secret identity. "Ugh... You have to promise not to tell anyone, not even your brother- okay?"

"Tell him what? In case you haven't noticed, I already know Peter is Spiderma-."

"Wade _is_ Deadpool." 

"Ohh." Lila went silent for a moment before turning to MJ and punching her in the arm, "That's for not giving me all the information."

MJ gave her another minute of silence before breaking it, "You ready to go back out there then?"

"Nope. We're getting food, the rest should probably be following now that we went inside." The two had just finished serving themselves when the first group soldiered over, passing by them to get their own lunch.

Nothing else exciting happened until the dance floor (a 10 ft by 10ft square in the middle of the tent) opened up. The first people on the floor were the Bartons, Laura and Clint dancing with their kids instead of a first dance between the couple- but then everyone was invited to join.

The kids joined the floor and created their own dance circle, doing a variety of moves the adults mostly ignored. Only Peter remained at the table, but after a few songs, Wade joined him- standing beside his chair and causing the brunette to look up at him before he spoke.

"Why aren't you dancing Peteypie?" He smirked until something popped into his mind and he was suddenly serious and crouching down to his level, "You're not still hurt are you? If you are I'm gonna-"

"No, no. I'm fine, speed healing remember?" Wade nodded at him, trying to get him to continue, "I don't know, we've just been weird and I know we haven't had time to talk about anything and that's probably why but I still feel bad about it all. Sorry."

"Whoa! Whoa there, I know we need to talk a bit- but... but that's nothing to be all glum and sorry about- why don't we just enjoy the music and we can talk on the plane? Or after this- while we're packing? I'm not going anywhere so there's nothing to worry- oof!" Peter had surged forward and hugged Wade at that, causing them both to fall to the ground due to his strength. 

"Sorry!" Peter stood quickly, helping Wade up. "Let's go dance- you're right. Let's have fun" Wade turned to walk the few feet to the dance floor before Peter pulled him back for a real hug, whispering, "thank you for following me that day- and for not letting go" into his neck before turning around and pulling Wade to their friends.

Wade let himself be pulled over, a smile on his face knowing he'd be able to talk to Peter after he got the chance to relax and enjoy himself around all his friends. He didn't even notice the look MJ and Shuri shared when they noticed a blushing Peter dragging a smiling Wade over to the dance floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only thing left is an epilogue.


	15. Wong needs peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue.
> 
> i.e. I try to tie things up with a bow... this is the result.

On the plane ride home it was peaceful, The adult sitting in the front of the plane and the kids in the back. Peter and Wade sat together, sleeping on each other the entire ride home. Across the aisle Thor and Bruce mirrored their position.

Stephen and Tony could not have sat further away unless they broke the unspoken rule of adults in the front. Pepper was happy to have her business partner trapped in the seat next to her- she finally got him to sign some paperwork and make a few decisions along the way.

May and Stephen discussed life in a hospital, she told him she didn’t much care for him at first, his reputation and his attitude preceding him. Though after their conversation she did admit that he was a much better companion than she expected him to be.

The other kids in the true back of the plane were also sleeping, MJ and Shuri each had a head on Ned’s shoulders. 

A few weeks later Tony was having lunch at the Sanctum when he brought up Peter and Wade. Let’s just say Stephen was unimpressed. “You mean to tell me Peter and Wade weren’t dating when we first met them? And that somehow you encouraged him so much so that he then told the man his feelings that night. I’m impressed- imagine if you could do that with yourself.”

The shorter man seemed slightly surprised, but regained his composure and stood from his place at the table. He walked around the table, placing one hand on the back of Stephen’s chair and the other in front of the man. “Oh really? You’d like it if I could do what with myself?”

“Oh, I think you know.”

“Maybe, but I really need you to say it… Do you think you could handle it?” 

“Oh, I handled your _friend_ ’s wedding perfectly. I can handle you.” Tony smirked at the doctor, watching as he was pulled in by his hands and then his neck until he got close enough to feel his breath on his nose. Tony shifted to straddle Stephen on the chair, pausing to look in his eyes, both looking at each other and forgetting about the world. 

It was of course that moment that Wong walked in, sighing as they looked at him without moving apart. They stared at each other before Stephen looked away, turning back to Tony. “Don’t tarnish the books” was thrown over his shoulder as Wong exited.

The two men laughed before their mouths were otherwise occupied. But they didn’t stay in there long- Wong’s wrath was not to be messed with. Lucky for them, Stephen had a room at the Sanctum.

Also, Rhodey owes Pepper $40.00 but that has nothing to do with this.


End file.
